Advocacy

Since taking office, President Biden has taken steps to reverse the damage done to the LGBTQ+ community by the Trump administration. Some of this harm will be felt for years to come, particularly due to Trump’s packing of the federal judiciary and Supreme Court with anti-LGBTQ+ justices. The first months of the Biden presidency have included significant, positive changes for our community. So far, the new administration has:

• overturned the ban on transgender individuals from serving in the armed forces
• appointed LGBTQ+ people to top positions in the administration, including Pete Buttigieg (Sec. of Transportation), Dr. Rachel Levine (Asst. Sec. of Health), and Ned Price (Spokesperson for the Department of State)
• instructed federal agencies to enforce prohibitions on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, consistent with the Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clayton County decision in 2020
• withdrawn federal support from a lawsuit that targets the rights of transgender student-athletes
• supported the passage of the Equality Act, a sweeping nondiscrimination law that would protect LGBTQ+ people nationwide 

In Maine, we have experienced a new era of opportunity in our work towards full equality in the past three years. The 2018 election brought us pro-equality majorities in the State House and State Senate, and smart and effective leadership in the Blaine House. We have seized that moment, passing numerous bills in the 129th and 130th legislatures that have made a huge difference for LGBTQ+ Mainers. And we’re not done yet.