Hundreds of people turned out in Cumberland on Sunday with a message for the Trump administration and anyone else challenging Maine's Human Rights Act: "We won't back down."
Maine has become ground zero in a national culture war over the rights of LGBTQIA+ students after President Donald Trump confronted Gov. Janet Mills last month about allowing transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity.
After calling Mills out during a meeting of the National Governors' Association, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from Maine until the state reverses course. Mills responded by saying she is upholding the law, and she'd see him in court.
"We are here today to stand up for Gov. Mills who stood up for Maine and for the Maine Human Rights Act," said rally organizer Leah McDonald as the crowd erupted in cheers.
Wearing a "See you in court" T-shirt, McDonald urged local leaders to continue to stand up against what she called "illegal federal overreach and fear mongering."
Maine's Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other things. According to the Maine Principals' Association, only two transgender athletes are competing in girls' sports this year in Maine. In December, the NCAA president put the number of transgender college athletes in the U.S. at fewer than ten.
McDonald acknowledged that not everyone at the rally likely feels the same way about transgender athletes competing in girls' sports.
"But let me be very clear. That is not what we are talking about today," she said. "We are talking about the targeted bigotry of a hateful administration."
Last Monday, the Trump administration said it was giving Maine ten days to comply with its order on transgender athletes or the matter would be taken up by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Andrea Berry, chair of the select board for the town of North Yarmouth, said it's critical to have a strong showing against the threats from the federal government. Her board recently released a statement announcing its support for the LGBTQIA+ community members, including a transgender student athlete who was outed on social media by a state Rep. Laurel Libby of Auburn.
"We affirm that all residents deserve to feel safe, valued, and included in our town and will do all we can to defend those rights," the statement says.
Libby was later censured by the Maine House for her actions. As for the North Yarmouth select board, Berry says since the statement was released, there has been some negative feedback both online and in person. But she says the vast majority of the responses have been supportive. And she says it's been uplifting to see so many people show up for the rally on Sunday.
"Standing up for queer and trans youth is what we have to do," Berry says. "If we say we're a community it's because we're a community for everyone."
Seventeen-year-old Vigolia Walsh, a senior at Greely and a member of the school's civil rights team, agrees that ensuring "safety, privacy and support" for all students is crucial for civility.
"Donald Trump and all that support his administration think that they can instill hate into our school. Here is when we say we refuse your hateful ways, your bigoted ways and your just plain meanness," she said.
Walsh and other speakers pledged to keep up the fight for students' rights, a safe education and a loving community.
