Trans Equality
If you are a transgender person in Maine, you are protected from discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act in housing, credit, employment, education and public accommodations. EqualityMaine is proud to have led the coalition that finally upheld this law in the 2005 election after more than twenty years of work. Although there have been challenges to this law, the Legislature has upheld it twice, after extensive lobbying to protect it by EqualityMaine, transgender organizations, and allied organizations. You can also legally change your gender on your driver’s license through a form that is available at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
The text of the Maine Human Rights Act is available online here.
The Maine Human Rights Act is invaluable, but there are still challenges affecting transgender people in Maine. Some issues that transgender people still face in Maine include:
- Health care services related to transition are not covered by many insurers
- Employment discrimination
- Mistreatment at school
- Lack of understanding in the general public about what it means to be transgender
If you have experienced any of these problems, please call EqualityMaine at 207-761-3732.
EqualityMaine labored in coalition for twenty years to secure trans-inclusive, comprehensive non-discrimination protections. Since these protections were won in 2005, we’ve continued to work to defend the law from legislative attack. We also know that it is not enough to pass and defend a law; to fully experience that law’s impact in our day-to-day lives, we must advocate, educate and organize. The LGBT community, and transgender people in particular, face deeply embedded biases and still experience harassment in schools, transphobia and homophobia in the workplace, and other harms. It will require sustained and intense work to address these problems.
There are many excellent resources for transgender people and allies, including:
Trans Youth Equality Foundation
GLAD Legal InfoLine- call 1-800-455-GLAD or go to glad.org/rights if you have any legal concerns or questions related to gender identity
You may also find the resources GLAD provides here useful.
National Center for Transgender Equality.
If you want to make your organization more trans-inclusive, consult this step-by-step guide from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.