Maine residents agree with keeping trans athletes out of girls' and women's sports, poll shows

Most Maine residents bash not judge transgender athletes should vie successful girls’ and women’s sports, a University of New Hampshire canvass released Thursday showed.

The survey came arsenic the Trump administration’s deadline for the authorities to comply with President Donald Trump’s enforcement bid to barroom biologic males from girls’ and women’s sports came. Maine refused to comply with the bid and the Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights referred the state’s "noncompliance with Title IX" to the Justice Department.

The canvass showed that 64% of Maine residents judge transgender athletes "definitely should not" oregon "probably should not" enactment successful girls’ and women’s sports. Only 29% of Maine residents believed that transgender athletes "probably should" oregon "definitely should" vie against girls and women successful sports.

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Gov. Janet Mills attends an event, March 11, 2022, successful Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

The canvass besides showed that 56% of Maine Democrats judge that transgender athletes should beryllium allowed to vie successful girls’ and women’s sports.

When it came to enacting policies to combat the contented of transgender information successful sports, the canvass showed that 50% of Maine residents wanted it astatine the national level, portion 41% judge argumentation should beryllium near up to the states.

Around 1,057 Maine residents completed the canvass betwixt March 20 and 24 with the borderline of mistake being astir 3%.

The poll’s results came arsenic Maine officials continued to thumb their chemoreceptor astatine Trump’s "No Men successful Women’s Sports" enforcement order, which helium signed successful February.

"Today, OCR referred Maine’s noncompliance with Title IX to @TheJusticeDept for enforcement successful tribunal for continuing to unlawfully let males to vie against females," the section announced successful a societal media station connected Friday. 

"HHS volition proceed to support women’s sports and support the promises of Title IX for America’s women and girls."

The Maine School Administrative District 51, location to Greely High School, wherever a transgender jock incited nationalist contention aft winning a girls' rod vault contention successful February, said Thursday it was not complying and volition alternatively "continue to travel authorities instrumentality and the Maine Human Rights Act."

MAINE GOV. JANET MILLS RESPONDS TO TRUMP'S DEMAND FOR APOLOGY OVER TRANS-ATHLETE POLICIES

The State House is seen successful Augusta, Maine, connected June 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

The Maine Principals' Association said successful a connection it is besides "bound by the law, including the Maine Human Rights Act, which our information argumentation reflects." 

The concern involving the trans jock astatine Greely High School attracted nationalist attraction aft Maine Republican authorities Rep. Laurel Libby identified the jock by sanction with a photograph successful a societal media post. Libby was aboriginal censured by the Maine legislature, and she has since filed a suit to person it overturned.

Libby reacted to the OCR’s referral to the DOJ connected Saturday.

Maine authorities Rep. Laurel Libby reacted to the OCR's referral to the DOJ. (Fox News)

"Gov. Mills and the Democrat bulk refusal to comply with national Title IX protections has present resulted successful Maine being officially referred to the Department of Justice. This is simply a nonstop effect of their extremist policies that enactment ideology up of fairness and information for Maine girls and the acquisition of our students," Libby told Fox News Digital.

"Mainers judge successful communal sense, fairness and protecting the rights of women and girls successful sports and spaces. While this utmost stance does not bespeak the values of our state, it is yet Maine’s schools, students and taxpayers who volition endure the consequences of their reckless decisions and ongoing feud with biologic reality."

Representatives for Mills oregon Maine Attorney General Anthony Frey person not responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.

Trump’s contented with the authorities of Maine came to a caput astatine a gathering of the National Governors Association successful precocious February.

Trump threatened to chopped national backing to the authorities for not banning biologic males from girls’ and women’s sports.

The adjacent day, Mills' bureau responded with a connection threatening ineligible enactment against the Trump medication if it did withhold national backing from the state. Then, Trump and Mills verbally sparred successful a wide publicized statement astatine the White House during a bipartisan gathering of governors.

"Are you not going to comply with that?" Trump asked Mills.

Since then, aggregate protests against Mills person been held extracurricular the authorities Capitol, and the Maine University System has cooperated with the Trump medication to guarantee nary trans athletes vie successful women's sports aft a impermanent backing pause.

The OCR announced earlier this period it recovered the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association and Greely High School successful usurpation of Title IX for continuing to alteration trans inclusion successful girls' sports.

OCR Acting Director Anthony Archeval antecedently provided a connection to Fox News Digital informing of imaginable consequences for continued defiance of the enforcement order.

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"What HHS is asking of the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association (MPA) and Greely High School is elemental — support pistillate athletes’ rights. Girls merit girls-only sports without antheral competitors. And if Maine won’t travel to the array to voluntarily comply with Title IX, HHS volition enforce Title IX to the fullest grade permitted by the law," Archeval said.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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