New Hampshire parents are concerned that a controversial proposal under consideration in Augusta will disproportionately impact Granite State children, WGME reported on Wednesday.
That’s because the bill would allow Maine to take emergency jurisdiction over minors who cross the border for sex-change procedures.
The bill, LD 1735, was sponsored by Rep. Laurie Osher (D-Orono), who said she asked State House staffers to model the legislation on a similar bill that passed in California.
If passed, the bill would prevent Maine law enforcement from cooperating with police from another state to return a minor who has travelled to Maine to get sex-change related treatments they have been unable to obtain in their home state.
The provisions would apply even in cases when the minor was brought to Maine by someone who is not a relative, leading conservative opponents of the bill to label it a “transgender trafficking bill.”
[RELATED: Maine Could Become Sanctuary for Out-of-State Minors Seeking Sex Changes…]
Osher has said she intended the law to provide “sanctuary” for children who live in red states where legislatures have recently prohibited doctors from performing sex-change surgeries on children or giving hormones to children.
But residents of nearby New Hampshire testified that they are concerned how Maine’s potential new law will impact their children.
From WGME:
A drove of New Hampshire residents testified against the bill during a public hearing earlier this month. Many argue that New Hampshire, which borders Maine to the west, would be directly impacted by the bill’s passage, as New Hampshire children would relatively easily be able to enter Maine to receive gender-related treatments.
“Your bill puts in danger children from NH by way of the absolute madness of so-called ‘gender-affirming care.’ Your contemplated legalized genital butchery of your minors is your perverted business, but disfigurement and permanent genital and psychological damage of NH children is not your province,” Daniel Richardson of Nashua, N.H., wrote.
If LD 1735 passes, Maine would join a growing list of states to approve “trans tourism” laws, as they are often dubbed on social media. The American Principles Project (APP) put out an advisory for families last week warning of the risks of traveling to California and Minnesota, both of which have passed such laws. Colorado passed a similar “transgender tourism” bill earlier this year, though the Colorado law requires parental consent for any treatments to be provided.
Despite Granite Staters’ concerns about the proposal, it appears to have enough support among Democrats to secure passage in the Legislature, though Gov. Janet Mills so far hasn’t said whether she would veto the bill.
[RELATED: Social Workers’ Role in Maine Schools to Grow Under Proposed Education Rule…]
LD 1735 is just part of a series of bills introduced this legislative session by more liberal members of the Democratic caucus related to sex-change treatments for children.
LD 535, another bill that’s likely to pass, would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to obtain sex-change drugs in cases when their parents oppose them doing so.
LD 394, a bill that would expand the role of social workers in public schools, was seen by many on the right as an effort to further introduce gender ideology into Maine’s schools.
That bill has already passed the House and the Senate along party lines.
Listen, I don’t think you know what the Granite State is exactly. The whole region including Maine not too long ago, could’t even tolerate the sight of a black man, woman or child.