It’s not every day parents opposed to progressive transgender ideology get tangible results, but that’s precisely what happened when thousands of them called and emailed Maine legislators to voice their opposition to Maine LD1735 – “An Act to Safeguard Gender-affirming Health Care.”
LD1735 died in committee on Thursday after all 12 state Senate Judiciary Committee members voted against sending it to the floor for a full vote. Lawyers and other professionals confirmed our fears that LD1735 would have made Maine a “sanctuary state” for minors seeking sex change treatments and stripped necessary parental rights away from out-of-state parents.
Maine LD 1735 died in committee because parents nationwide stood up for their children! It’s time to celebrate this victory but don’t become complacent. They won’t stop coming and you can’t stop protecting them!
Congratulations, @CourageHabit @Jenn_McW @ShawnMcBreairty and… https://t.co/FymaQU0GIc— Mary Rooke (@MaryRooke_) January 25, 2024
The formerly proposed bill would have amended the state’s official definition of an emergency abusive situation to include parents who deny their children access to “gender-affirming health care of gender-affirming mental health care.” If LD 1735 had passed, it meant that by denying a child cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers and surgeries that remove healthy sex organs, Maine would have considered these parents as “abusive” as someone who beat their child bloody every night. (ROOKE: I’d Like To Thank Joy Reid. Her Open Endorsement Of Porn For Kids Makes My Job Easier)
Maine, a state that is overrun by progressive activists and controlled by Democrats, would have passed this bill in its entirety without a second thought if it hadn’t been for American parents pushing back against them. This same legislature passed a bill lowering the age of consent to 16 years old for minors seeking transgender treatments. This means that a 16-year-old can be put on irreversible hormone blockers and cross-sex hormones and be given chest binders and clothing that tucks male genitals without parents’ knowledge or consent. It also would have given school counselors and social workers the authority to transition students without parental consent.
After the bill failed, Alvin Lui, president of Courage Is A Habit, an organization that works to end progressive bills at state legislatures, celebrated the win with the Daily Caller. He called it proof that “the individual American Patriot is not helpless.”
“My team and I are so incredibly grateful for every single person that wrote emails and shared it with their family and friends. What we do really doesn’t matter if people don’t take action. And this was a loud and clear message by parents across America to the Transgender Cult that their emotional blackmail is coming to an end. Parents don’t care about labels anymore. This cult will not take our children,” Lui said
Congratulations, everyone. This is YOUR win. You all showed what happens when you stop letting the Transgender Cult emotionally blackmail you. The every-day-American Patriot is not helpless. @AmericaMission_ @theblaze @TPostMillennial @DailySignal @DailyCaller @MaryRooke_… pic.twitter.com/qwnlVPOJYT
— Courage Is A Habit (@CourageHabit) January 25, 2024
“Every day we are inundated with so many big issues that make the average American feel helpless. This win that they were able to achieve proves that the individual American Patriot is not helpless,” he continued. “This 12-0 defeat of this Transgender Trafficking Bill was done in a blue state that allows 9-month abortions and 16-year olds can obtain Transgender drugs and surgeries without parental consent. This absolutely win is only a glimpse of what can happen when Americans take action and reject those who hate America, our Constitution, and parental rights,” he continued.
Lui is correct in that the system is often stacked in favor of the left, which uses bully tactics to kill important protections for vulnerable children. And, they continue to work to strip parental rights away under the guise that children have the mental capacity to make life-altering decisions — especially in states where Democrats control the legislature and executive branches.
A similar bill was signed into law in California, SB-107, “Gender-affirming health care,” making it the first state to be considered a “sanctuary state” for children captured by gender ideology. (ROOKE: State Follows Blueprint To Legalize New Form Of Child Trafficking)
Like LD 1735, California can ignore out-of-state custody orders if the state deems the child is being harmed by their parent by refusing these procedures. It also makes it illegal to disclose whether children are receiving transgender treatments covered under the law, even if there is a foreign subpoena requesting the information.
Great news for Maine!
Unfortunately, California remains a trans child trafficking state.
Californians can end this by putting the @ProtectKidsCA initiative on the ballot.
Visit https://t.co/WnkKZxGBEo to learn more and to sign the petition.
— Jonathan Zachreson (@JZachreson) January 26, 2024
Concerned parents in California are working to undo the damage being done to children in the state by transgender ideology through the Protect Kids California initiative. The group is hopeful that enough signatures will place this initiative on the statewide ballot and allow parents to have a say in whether their children have access to these harmful procedures.
Although it’s no time to be complacent, Maine LD 1735’s failure was a big win for parental rights and protecting American children. Parents have the power and divine right to stand up for their families against harmful ideologies attempting to capture their children and use them for political purposes.