(The Center Square) — A Maine GOP lawmaker is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a dispute over her censure by the state Legislature for comments about a transgender athlete competing in girls’ sports.
State Rep. Laurel Libby said she filed an emergency motion Monday to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asking the high court to consider her appeal of a lower court ruling upholding the censure vote, which has blocked her from voting on bills or speaking on legislative matters.
“For over 60 days, my constituents have had no say in actions taken by their government, actions that directly impact their lives,” Libby, an Auburn Republican, said in a statement. “Every vote taken on the floor of the Legislature is a vote my constituents cannot get back. The good people of our district have been silenced and disenfranchised.”
Libby was censured in February by the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives after posting a picture on social media that identified a minor transgender student-athlete.
A lawsuit in March by Libby and several of her constituents sought to overturn the censure vote brought by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, but the legal challenge was rejected by a federal judge who said the court lacks jurisdiction to meddle in the “internal” policies of the Maine Legislature.
Libby appealed the ruling, but the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling Friday denying her request. The appellate panel said Libby’s lawyers failed to show the lawsuit was likely to succeed and that she — or her constituents — would be irreparably harmed if the legislative censure remains in place.
In court filings, Libby’s legal team argues that the censure, which prevents her from speaking on the House floor or voting on bills until she publicly apologizes for the comments—violates her First Amendment rights to free speech. She has refused to apologize or take down the Facebook post.
Libby said the case “stands as a critical test of whether state legislatures can punish duly elected officials for their protected speech — and whether constituents can be denied their rightful voice in government.” She said the censure runs contrary to recent Supreme Court rulings.
“We are hopeful the court will act swiftly to halt the Democrats’ ongoing violation of the Constitution and suppression of dissenting voices, even as our broader case continues through the appeals process,” she said.
Maine has become a flashpoint in the national debate over transgender athletes in girls’ and female sports since President Donald Trump vowed to withhold federal funding from any state that fails to comply with his “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. Trump has publicly clashed with Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who argues that the state complies with federal anti-discrimination laws.
Two weeks ago, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education and other entities over alleged violations of Title IX for allowing the participation of male athletes in female-only high school and college sports. Bondi accused the state and its education officials of “discriminating” against women. Libby says she supports the legal challenge.
