It’s Going Down This Thursday

Dear Friend,

Thursday, May 6 will be one of the busiest days we have seen in years. Seven bills on which we have been focusing will have public hearings before the Judiciary Committee and the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee; the members of those committees need to hear from you.

Starting at 9 AM, the Judiciary Committee will be hearing testimony on three bills dealing with transgender policy. We need to hear from women who support Sen.  Keim’s women’s shelter bill (LD 1238). These legislators need to know that vulnerable women seeking shelter should not have to sacrifice their privacy and safety by sleeping and showering with biological males.

We also need to hear from parents, female student-athletes, coaches, and other citizens in support of LD 926 and LD 1401 protecting women’s sports. Women have fought too hard for the progress they have made in athletic competition to see those opportunities evaporate by allowing males to compete in women’s athletics.

On that same day, the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee will be hearing four bills addressing the negative impact of removing the religious and philosophical exemptions for vaccinations. The members of this committee need to hear from parents, students, medical professionals, schools, and citizens who support the previous exemptions. The League supports Reps Drinkwater‘s and Sampson‘s bills (LD 156 and LD 1082) exempting virtual schools and private school students from immunization requirements. We support Rep. Kinney‘s bill (LD 833) reinstating the religious exemption. We also support Rep. Faulkingham’s bill (LD 96) which would restore both the philosophical and religious exemptions.

Click here to sign up to provide written or live, online testimony. If you’ve never provided written testimony, click here for a guide. Click here for a link to a document created by Mike McClellan about these bills and others that will be heard this week. Click here for details and talking points for the vaccination bills from our allies, Mainers for Health and Parental Rights.

As always, if you have any questions or need any help with the testimony process, you can contact our policy director, Mike McClellan anytime at cclmainepolicy@gmail.com or 329-6148.  We know these are controversial bills, and some of you may be apprehensive about providing testimony due to possible negative consequences with your work situation or other circumstances. You can also contact Mike McClellan if you want to confidentially provide relevant information regarding these bills.

Let us not forget that our battle is not with flesh and blood. Thursday, May 6 is the National Day of Prayer (NDP) and, boy, do we need prayer! Click here to see my brief interview with the Northeast Director of NDP, Robin McLaughlin, to get details about the Augusta NDP event and activities near you.