The Maine legislature has voted to put an end to a bill that would have given state authorities the power to take gender-confused children away from parents who oppose transgendering them.
A joint legislative committee made up of members of both the Maine House of Representatives and the Senate voted on January 23 that LD 1735 — dubbed the “transgender trafficking bill” by critics — “ought not to pass” in a unanimous 12-0 vote.
The bill would have made Maine a “safe haven” for transgenderism and would have blocked parents from having a say in a child’s “transition.” It would even have applied to an out-of-state child if that child were to make it into Maine to continue “gender-affirming” care.
Republican Rep. Katrina Smith confirmed to the Daily Signal that the legislature has formally allowed the bill to die in committee and that it will not be sent on for a full floor vote.
“Today we won a victory for our children who have been fooled into thinking they are not perfect the way God made them,” Smith said. “With the death of LD 1735 we have proven that when evil is brought out of the darkness and exposed in the light, it can be vanquished. The people spoke loudly and it mattered.”
The bill aimed to make Maine a sort of sanctuary state for transgenderism and would have given children and family services a startling new power.
In its summary, the bill directly stated, “The bill authorizes a court to take temporary jurisdiction because a child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.”
There was no provision made for religious objection.
Under the bill, Maine’s parents would have no parental rights on the issue; either they would allow their children to be exposed to dangerous and permanent transgendering drugs and surgeries, or they would lose them to the state.
Activists who opposed the bill were exultant this week as news broke that the legislature decided to let the far-reaching bill die in committee.
If the bill in Maine were to have passed and been signed into law, the state would have joined several other states in eliminating parental rights in favor of the radical transgender movement.
A law passed last year in the state of Washington, for instance, prevents estranged parents of minors undergoing transgendering treatment from having any say in the medical treatment of their children.
In California, a law was enacted last year that forces courts to weigh conflicts over “gender-affirming care” in custody matters, giving weight to the child seeking transgendering over parental opposition.
Also, in New York, Dem. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that protects children seeking transgendering in the Empire State, even if they are from other states and are not residents of New York.
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