Representative Laurel Libby / Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Maine, has been barred from speaking or voting in the Maine House after publicly objecting to the state’s policy of allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports and refusing to recant.
The Republican lawmaker was formally censured in February after she posted a photo and the name of a male student athlete, who now claims to be female, on her public Facebook page.
Her post criticized the student’s recent win in a girls’ championship meet after competing in boys’ events the previous year.
“We’ve learned that just ONE year ago John was competing in boy’s pole vault… that’s when he had his 5th place finish,” Libby wrote. ”Tonight, ‘Katie’ won 1st place in the girls’ Maine State Class B Championship.”
Democratic Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Ryan Fecteau swiftly condemned the post, demanding that Libby take it down.
When she refused, House leadership introduced a censure resolution the next day, citing the use of the student’s name and photo. The measure passed narrowly, 75-70.
The censure bars Libby from speaking or voting on any House legislation until she recants. She may still sponsor bills and participate in committee work, but cannot represent her constituents in floor debates or votes.
“I comment about a wide variety of current issues here in Maine, so I did not expect a big issue about it,” Libby said of the post at the time. “It was a public photo from a public event that an individual chose freely to participate in and step up on a podium during.”
Libby sued Fecteau last month, arguing the censure violated her First Amendment rights and effectively silenced nearly 9,000 voters in her district.
However, a federal judge ruled late April that legislative immunity shielded Fecteau’s actions and that the temporary nature of the punishment undermined claims of constitutional harm.
“We’re getting into really dangerous territory,” Libby warned after the ruling, “because speech is not free when a simple majority can silence a member of the minority party.”
“While I’m disappointed by today’s decision, it doesn’t change the fact that Ryan Fecteau and Maine Democrats abused their power in order to silence dissent, disenfranchise nearly 9,000 of my constituents, and suppress the voices they disagree with,” she said in an April statement.
“The courts must stand up to this abuse of power, which contradicts the very rationale for representative democracy. We will appeal,” she added.
