She may not have been in the room during a Monday public hearing, but Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, was on the minds of those who spoke in favor of a Democratic-backed proposal that would outlaw the “doxxing” of Maine children.
Libby fueled the most recent debates over Maine’s policies allowing transgender students to compete in sports in alignment with their gender identity. She made viral social media posts in February about a transgender student at Greely High School who won a state indoor track and field title.
The Democratic-led Maine House of Representatives censured Libby last week for her posts, and she refused to apologize while losing her floor voting and speaking privileges. The Cumberland high school home to the student Libby identified had also boosted its security as students returned last week from the winter vacation.
The debates are not over. The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee held a Monday hearing on a bill from Rep. Melanie Sachs, D-Freeport, and several Democratic cosponsors that would let family members or guardians sue people who allegedly “doxxed” children.
The measure defines doxxing as the “knowing disclosure of personal identifying information of a person, without that person’s consent,” and when that disclosure intends to or does cause harm, serious property damage or for a person to “reasonably fear” for their safety.
“If one student or child in our community is put at risk, then all of us are,” a Greely High School student testified Monday while describing feeling unsafe and uneasy as media outlets and national attention descended last week upon the school and the student Libby identified.
No federal law explicitly bans doxing children or any member of the public, but various red and blue states such as Alabama and California outlaw the practice as either a crime or a civil penalty in different ways, including by explicitly banning it against judges and police officers.
No one had testified against the measure Monday. The ACLU of Maine has not taken a stance on it, and Libby did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, she said “a picture is worth a thousand words” after being asked why she identified the student.
President Donald Trump has since threatened to pull federal funding from Maine and had a tense exchange with Gov. Janet Mills at a White House event on Feb. 21 before his administration launched several investigations into whether Maine’s policies are discriminatory under Title IX.
Attorney General Aaron Frey testified in favor of Sachs’ proposal, while Mills told reporters Monday that the Maine Principals’ Association rule from 2021 that allows transgender students to compete in sports aligned with their gender identity is “worthy of a debate” in the Legislature.
No clear figures are available on transgender student-athletes competing in Maine, but from 2013 to 2021, the association took case-by-case requests from 56 high school students — only four of whom were transgender female students — wishing to participate on a scholastic team consistent with their gender identity.
Those supporting Sachs’ bill, including parents and classmates of transgender kids along with numerous principals, the state’s school board association and the LGBTQ-rights group EqualityMaine, said it is mostly focused on protecting kids and noted an elevated suicide risk for transgender children.
Melanie Gordon, a lobbyist testifying on behalf of the Maine Psychological Association, said targeting a child “is the most heinous form of doxxing.”
“It attacks a young person who no doubt already feels vulnerable, as they all do as young people,” Gordon said.
