Portland Press Herald - Critics argue that transgender rights were pushed too far and too fast in recent years, inviting a backlash. Others say gender politics became the chosen wedge issue of the moment for social conservatives, who lost their battle against same-sex marriage a decade ago.

Conservatives in Maine and across the country first targeted LGBTQ-themed books in school libraries, age-appropriate gender-affirming care and counseling, and access to bathrooms. But it is participation in sports that has become the most potent and divisive front in the new culture war, one that has divided Democrats...

The Movement Advancement Project ranks Maine’s laws as the fifth strongest in the country in prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in public accommodations and the sixth to prohibit discrimination in housing and employment.

But Maine is one of 22 states that explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and one of 23 states that has laws or policies allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identities, according to MAP.

In Maine, the policy for high school sports participation is set by the Maine Principals’ Association, which cites the state’s antidiscrimination law as the basis for allowing access.

Twenty-five states have laws preventing transgender participation in sports consistent with their gender identities, while two others have policies for the same....

The prohibition against discrimination based on gender identity initially gained its foothold in Maine law in 2005...

Maine became one of the first three states in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage in 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states three years later.

In 2013, the Maine Principals’ Association developed a process allowing transgender high school students to compete on sports teams that align with their gender identities....

While the sports policy initially did not generate significant controversy, trans rights made news in Maine in 2014 amid an emerging national debate about bathroom access.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a school district in Orono violated the rights of a transgender student, Nicole Maines, by prohibiting her from using the women’s bathroom. The court cited Maine’s Human Rights Act as the basis of its ruling.

In 2016, North Carolina became the first state to pass a law requiring transgender individuals to use a restroom consistent with their sex assigned at birth. However, that policy caused swift and fierce backlash, generating widespread calls to boycott the state. That restriction was removed the following year.