Published on March 14, 2024, 12:43 am

A consortium of 16 Republican attorneys general, with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti at the helm, has issued a stark warning to the state of Maine. Their bone of contention revolves around a divisive legislative measure that would establish Maine as a sanctuary for child sex change processes.

Addressed in an open letter to key figures in Maine’s governance, including Governor Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey — as well as both the president of the Senate and speaker of the House — their disapproval zeroes in on legislation known as LD 227. They classify this proposed law as unconstitutional and dangerous; it proposes legal protection for medical professionals engaged in sex change procedures, obstructs ‘out-of-state’ laws that curtail or prohibit treatments sanctioned by Maine law, and potentially robs parents of legal redress if their children travel to undertake these interventions in Maine.

“LD 227’s unique constitutional transgressions merit our comment—” argued the GOP attorneys general within their letter. The criticisms raise serious questions about this potential law infringing on other states’ rights, denouncing it because it appears “to contravene the lawful policy choices of our States’ citizens by imposing…Maine’s views on hotly debated issues such as gender transition surgeries for children.”

Their admonishment stretches beyond just criticism towards what they perceive as an overreach; they unequivocally term it a violation of the United States Constitution. It seems to bypass those sturdy boundaries meant to allow each individual state freedom to self-govern, adhering firmly to its citizen’s collective will. Other than asserting this breach of local autonomy, they specifically point out how LD 227 runs contrary to established legal precedent.

Though respecting Maine’s jurisdiction within its geography does garner some degree of acknowledgment from them – “Maine has every right to decide what Maine’s laws are…” – they enforce that these same privileges rightly belong to all states across America. Mining from their insight, they dare to state, “One State cannot control another.”

The wide-ranging warning concludes with a promise of energetic resistance if Maine persists with this contentious legislation: “If Maine pursues LD 227’s constitutionally defective approach, we will vigorously avail ourselves of every recourse our Constitution provides.”

The letter represents not just the views of Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti, but a united front in staunch opposition. It carries the weighty signatures of attorneys general from Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia. So yes,the breaking news is that these Republican top lawyers are baring their legal fangs about an issue they consider beyond personal or territorial matter – it’s about principles engrained within the Christian worldview for them.