I just spent the last 2 hours submitting written testimony against 8 bills being introduced in the Maine legislature. What are the bills regarding? Oh, just more laws to take away trans rights.

There’s a group of Republicans in Maine who want to force schools to block trans athletes from participating in sports that align with their gender identity. Other bills want schools to force kids to use their names and genders that are listed on their birth certificates and others are trying to force schools to make students use bathrooms that align with the gender listed on their birth certificates.

And to top it all off, these Republicans want to remove gender identity from the list of protected characteristics under the Maine Human Rights Act. The MHRA is my state’s anti-discrimination law that prohibits discrimination based on protected characteristics like race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, and others, in employment, housing, education, etc.

A month ago I wrote to my local senator and representative when I heard about the change the Republicans wanted to make with the MHRA. Both of my local people are Republicans. I wrote them both an email, explaining why I am asking them not to vote for this—we should never be taking away rights from anyone, particularly those that are already marginalized. And if they think this would solve the problem of Trump’s attack on Maine because he doesn’t think a trans high school athlete should be playing on a team that aligns with her gender identity, they are mistaken.

“Please do not align with this type of thinking. Please think about all of the people in your community. And please don’t tell me that you think this will solve the problems of Trump bearing down on our state. If you’ve never been bullied before, maybe you don’t recognize a bully. If you’ve never suffered domestic abuse or misogyny, maybe you don’t recognize that either. But I have faced all of these things, and I can tell you, that the bully in the White House will keep pushing until he gets everything he wants. And I don’t want him and you to take away rights from my family and friends because you think this issue is about transgender athletes. It’s most definitely not. It’s about exclusion. Period.”–from my email and testimony

Did they respond to the email I sent a month ago? Nope. So I made sure in my testimony against this bill, I called them out on it.

I’m angry. And I’m sick of my state’s legislature wasting their time on asinine bills like this instead of working on food insecurity and lack of housing in this state. How about helping folks with substance use or mental health challenges?

During my 8^th testimony, I started to lose it. I was starting to quote Mel Robbins. LET THEM, I wrote. Who cares if a kid wants to use a name that’s different from their birth certificate? For fuck’s sake, it DOESN’T MATTER! (I didn’t swear, but it might have been implied.)

I know I didn’t write the best testimony because my emotions got the best of me. I didn’t always relate it back to me and I ranted on a few of them and got snarky on most. I’m just so tired of these jackasses. The thing is, we know these bills have absolutely nothing to do with athletics or bathrooms. They’re all part of Trump’s agenda to eliminate anyone who disagrees with him and everyone who is not like him. His government has already eliminated trans history from federal government websites (like Stonewall), so now states across the country are introducing bills like these.

I am not a person that will ever run for office, but I am willing to make my voice heard on a variety of issues. Last month I submitted written testimony in support of “Virginia’s bill” that would not allow a person convicted of certain domestic violence acts to be able to participate in a community confinement monitoring program. Virginia was our family friend who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, a man who in prison for domestic violence and was a part of one of these programs.

As a young adult, I participated in AIDS and Alzheimer’s walks, the occasional protest and wrote letters to the editor. But in the past 5 months, I’ve supplied written testimony to bills I both supported and opposed, participated in 3 protests and marches, and made phone calls and wrote emails to my Senators and Representatives. If I have anything to be grateful for from this administration, it would be that their fascism got me more involved in political participation than ever before.

Friends, I know you’re busy. I know you’re tired and life can be absolute shit. But it’s time to stand up. It’s time to speak out NOW. Don’t wait until it’s too late and don’t wait for someone else to do it.

If you’re a Mainer and need more information about the bills being proposed, check out Equality Maine, especially their Facebook page. They have great guides on what the bills are and how to submit testimony. The bills will be discussed on Thursday, May 8^th, so you still have time.

Thanks for listening to my plea, all. I appreciate you.