Drummond defends legislator silenced for speaking out against boys in girls’ sports

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 14, 2025) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court last week in defense of girls who have been forced to compete against biological males in sports. Drummond and a coalition of 15 state attorneys general are asking the court to weigh in on a case involving a legislator from Maine who was stripped of her voting and speaking rights in the state Legislature because she spoke out against a biological male competing against girls in track. 

“It is appalling that Rep. Laurel Libby cannot vote on behalf of her constituents or speak on the floor of the house unless she recants her views opposing transgender student athletes competing in girls’ sports to the satisfaction of Maine’s Speaker of the House,” Drummond said. “Her free speech rights have been violated and the voters in her district have been left disenfranchised.”

When Rep. Libby refused to apologize for exercising her right to free speech, she was censured by that body’s leadership – silencing her and the members in her district, who no longer have a voice or a vote in the Maine House of Representatives. 

The brief specifically addresses legislative immunity that has been invoked in the Libby case to shield the members who censured her. While legislative immunity is important, the brief argues, “It would be a perverse result indeed if a doctrine meant to protect freedom of speech and action in the legislature was instead used to erase Rep. Libby’s ability to speak and act in the Legislature.” 

Other states joining the brief were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.