This week, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins signed onto a referendum effort seeking to bar transgender girls from participating on girls’ sports teams and from using girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms (boo! hiss!). The Republican’s signature was shared on social media Sunday by someone involved with the campaign and reshared by the Maine Republican Party.
You may have noticed that anti-trans groups are collecting signature across the state (solidarity with anyone who ran into them at their polling places). They are attempting to gather 68,000 signatures by early February to make it onto the 2026 ballot. If this measure passes, the proposal would require schools to separate athletic teams, locker rooms, and bathrooms strictly by “biological sex,” forcing trans students to use facilities corresponding to their sex assigned at birth. This is a continuation of efforts to erase protections for trans youth at the state and local level.
Under the Maine Human Rights Act, all Maine students are guaranteed the right to participate on teams and use facilities aligned with their gender identity. These protections have been in place for two decades and are the result of deep organizing by transgender Mainers and their allies. It is crucial that we build power in our local communities to stop these, and all, attacks on young people.
Inspired by our movement elders and ancestors, we made some protest art to share with you. ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) formed in New York City amidst the AIDS epidemic of the 80s. We draw a lot of power from the bold, often bratty, artwork they used to amplify the demands at the heart of their organizing. We chose to reference a series of posters directed at President Ronald Reagan’s silence and inaction around the AIDS crisis. We see Susan Collin’s participation anti-trans campaigns as part of a history of harm by elected officials towards our people. More importantly though, we are drawing a line from historic moments of resistance led by everyday queer and trans people to our work today.
Here’s how you can help defend trans students:
1) Don’t sign the petition! Tell your friends, families, and neighbors as well. Our first line of defense is to keep anti-trans questions off the ballot.
2) Understand what’s happening in your local community and school district. We built a School Board Organizing Toolkit to help you get started! We can also help you make a plan. If your school board or town is trying to eliminate trans-related policies, please get in touch! We are tracking these efforts across the state and are trying to keep tabs on the nonsense.
3) Become a Solidarity Member of Portland Outright. Our Students Resources, Not Officers campaign directly supports the leadership of trans youth in Maine to build safe, equitable schools. Resourcing the political power of trans communities to fight back is a key way our communities can support us.