A Maine state legislator has been prohibited from speaking or having her votes counted—all for a social media post critical of transgender athletes participating in women's sports. Rep. Laurel Libby (R–Auburn) has attempted to challenge the legislature's actions against her in court but has faced several defeats. This week, Libby filed an emergency injunction asking the Supreme Court to intervene.
"If this statement were made by a non-member of the legislature . . . it would clearly be constitutionally protected," Nadine Strossen, the former president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) tells Reason. "So the only argument they can possibly make is that somehow you have fewer First Amendment rights when you are an elected member of a state legislative body than an ordinary citizen would have, which is completely counterintuitive and counter to not only fundamental First Amendment principles but fundamental principles of representative government."
In February, Libby made a post on Facebook and X criticizing the state's decision to allow a transgender girl to compete in a high school track championship. The post included the name and an unblurred photo of a transgender athlete who had won the girls pole vault after previously competing as a boy.
