Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) voted with Democrats on Thursday night and became the only Republican to oppose a bill that would have barred transgender-identifying males from women’s sports, locker rooms, and restrooms.
During testimony on the same bill, Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) performed a dramatic reading of his poem “Little Black Girl.”
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“We are being asked to decide whether our laws will affirm the dignity of every child in Maine or diminish it,” said Sen. Bennett testifying on the Senate floor.
“This legislation isn’t about fairness, it’s about fear. Maine already has policies that support equal opportunity while maintaining the integrity of school sports. These bills do nothing to solve real issues facing our students. Instead, they open the door to harassment, bullying, and discrimination,” he added.
The Senate voted to accept the Judiciary Committee’s minority “ought not to pass” recommendation for Sen. Susan Bernard’s (R-Aroostook) LD 1134, which would have barred males from female sports and spaces in schools that receive state funding.
The committee’s majority report, which is typically the one voted on by the broader legislature, was an “ought to pass as amended” recommendation, though the amendment simply attached a fiscal note without changing the bill itself.
Nevertheless, the Senate moved to accept the minority report and ultimately voted 21-14 to accept that report along party lines, with the sole exception of Bennett.
Bennett said that his decision was influenced by his daughter telling him that “these bills make me sad.” He said that his daughter’s emotional response made him feel like he could acknowledge his own feelings, he said.
“Her feelings gave me permission to be honest about mine too. I too feel sadness that these bills are before us, sadness that in a moment when we could be lifting up young people, we are entertaining proposals that single some of them out setting them apart as other,” said Bennett.
During his testimony, Bennett also celebrated a “proud trans woman,” Julia Lester, who was the first trans-identifying male to serve in public office in the state. He cited Lester’s testimony, claiming that “cruelty is the point” of bills aimed at protecting girls.
Bennett’s vote notably goes against the vast majority of voters who believe transgender-identifying males should not be allowed in women’s sports.
According to a January poll from New York Times/Ipsos, 79 percent of Americans, including 67 percent of Democrats and 94 percent of Republicans, do not believe that transgender-identifying males should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Bennett ran for his Senate seat in 2022 and 2024 without any Republican primary challengers and is up for re-election again in 2026.
Bennett’s pro-trans testimony was joined by a particularly notable testimony from Sen. Hickman, who read the first poem he ever wrote called “Little Black Girls.” In the poem, he declares that he is a “f-a-g-g-o-t” and says that he will always cherish the “little black girl” in him.
Daddy thought I would always be a sissy.
I guess they were afraid that I might Lose my masculinity
I am man, I am fierce, I am f-a-g-g-o-t.
Craig Hickman in “Little Black Girl” as read on the Senate Floor.
But I will always cherish the little black girl in me.
Hickman also stated that the poem has been translated into six languages.
Despite Hickman’s inspirational poem, the bill also faced staunch opposition from Republicans other than Bennett.
“When I look at boys competing in girl’s sports against girl’s today, I am astounded that what is clearly a genetic disadvantage for the girls is being allowed, and I look at this bill as a way to right that wrong,” said Sen. Stacy Guerin (R-Penobscot).
“There is a large difference between boys and girls athletically in my experience as a coach and a referee,” said Sen. David Haggan (R-Penobscot).
Though there are other bills this session that would address the issue of transgender males in female sports, they are likely to suffer the same fate as LD 1134, given the Democratic control of both chambers of the Maine legislature, accentuated by legislators like Bennett siding against their party.
