A citizen initiative to bar transgender athletes from girls’ sports is going to the state legislature after receiving the required number of valid signatures.
State lawmakers can now choose to enact the bill as written or to send it to voters in November’s election under state law.
The group “Protect Girls Sports in Maine” organized the initiative, saying it’ll preserve equal opportunities in school athletics.
Opponents say it discriminates against transgender students and breaks state law, which protects transgender rights under the Maine Human Rights Act.
Backers of the initiative, known as “An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex,” submitted 79,692 signatures.
The Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions found 71,033 signatures were valid and 8,659 signatures were invalid. A minimum of 67,682 signatures from registered Maine voters is required for citizen initiatives.
Thus, the initiative was found valid by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Tuesday.
Protect Girls Sports in Maine’s Principal Officer Leyland Streiff seemed to accept that the measure would not be passed in the Democratic controlled state legislature in a news release.
“It’s official!,” said Streiff. “This November, Mainers will get to do what the MPA and State Legislature have failed to do, and they’ll get to do it through the most democratic process possible – a simple majority vote.”
The initiative would also bar transgender athletes from girls’ facilities.
