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該投訴由 GLAD 代表一名 78 歲婦女提起，她因是跨性別者而被 Sunrise Assisted Living 拒絕入住房間。這是美國第一起針對老年長期照護機構提起的歧視法律訴訟。

2021 年 10 月 21 日，奧古斯塔——LGBTQ 法律倡導者和捍衛者 (GLAD) 今天提起歧視訴訟與緬因州人權委員會合作，代表一名 78 歲婦女，由於她是跨性別者，她被緬因州瓊斯波特的 Sunrise Assisted Living 拒絕入住房間。這是美國已知的第一起跨性別老年人針對長期照護機構提出的歧視投訴。投訴人的代理律師是 GLAD 律師 Ben Klein、Chris Erchull 和 Mary Bonauto。 2021 年春，這位公開名為 Jane Doe 的投訴人因急性醫療緊急情況被送往 Pen Bay 醫療中心。 Doe 女士的健康狀況穩定後，醫護人員確定她不需要住院護理，需要安置在輔助生活機構。一名醫院社工代表 Doe 女士聯繫了 Sunrise Assisted Living，並被告知他們有空房。然而，在得知 Doe 女士是變性人後，Sunrise 的管理人員通知醫院，他們不會接收 Doe 女士，因為他們擔心她想與女性室友住在一個房間裡，儘管 Sunrise 經常將女性安排與其他女性一起住在半私人房間裡。提出的索賠 GLAD 代表 Jane Doe 聲稱，Sunrise 機構基於 Doe 女士的性別認同、跨性別認同和性別特徵對其進行了歧視，而這些都受到緬因州人權法案的明確保護。「我們的客戶和許多老年人一樣，迫切需要像 Sunrise 這樣的輔助生活機構，」他說。 GLAD 資深律師 Ben Klein「她只是希望隨著年齡的增長，能像其他人一樣，得到尊嚴、同情和理解。緬因州和其他21個州一樣，將性別認同納入反歧視法，正是為了解決這類歧視，以及像多伊女士這樣的跨性別者在遭遇歧視時所遭受的深重傷害。」「緬因州人民以敢於讓步而聞名，」他補充道。 GLAD 律師 Chris Erchull“Sunrise 因 Doe 女士的身份而將其拒之門外，從而喪失了這種視角。這起訴訟強化了長期護理機構的核心價值觀：我們所有人隨著年齡增長都有權享有尊嚴和尊重。由於 Doe 女士是跨性別者，Sunrise 拒絕為其提供病房，也迫使她住院時間超過了醫療團隊的建議。” “我只是希望被像人一樣對待，” Doe 女士說「我不希望任何人因為跨性別者的身份而被拒之門外，得不到所需的護理。我希望人們明白，我們每個人都在盡力過好自己的生活，他們不能這樣對待別人。」研究表明，跨性別老年人與其他老年人一樣，甚至更有可能需要長期護理，包括輔助生活，因為長期被排斥和缺乏護理會導致不良的健康後果。然而，正如多伊女士的案例所示，跨性別成年人在年老後尋求護理和支持時，仍然面臨系統性和普遍性的歧視。 GLAD 民權項目主任 Mary Bonauto緬因州律師補充說：「我們明白，並非所有人都了解跨性別者，有些人對此感到不適。歸根結底，這個案子關乎常識性價值觀：我們希望被如何對待，以及我們該如何彼此相待？長期護理機構的護理人員知道如何以禮貌和尊重的態度接待和對待各行各業的人。這正是法律女士所要求的，也是法律所要求的。」 詳細了解 Doe訴Sunrise輔助生活.

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Maine Youth Justice (MYJ), the ACLU of Maine, and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) are calling on Governor Mills to act with urgency to close Maine’s only youth prison.

The call comes after revelations that guards at Long Creek used a dangerous restraint, known to create a risk of serious injury or death, on multiple occasions last month to subdue incarcerated young people.

Last session, MYJ led the effort to pass LD 1668 — a bill to develop a plan to close Long Creek and divert resources to community-based services — in the state legislature, which the ACLU and GLAD supported.

LD 1668 passed in both chambers of the legislature, but Governor Mills vetoed the bill.

Leyla Hashi, communications coordinator, Maine Youth Justice

“This is yet another example of why closing Long Creek is long overdue. No youth prison will keep Maine’s communities any safer, and Long Creek consistently exacerbates a cycle of extreme harm against our most vulnerable youth. There is no fixing it. There is no reforming it. We need to SHUT this facility DOWN.

“We urge Maine state legislators and the governor to take action to close Long Creek. One more day is too long to wait as kids in Long Creek continue to suffer physical and psychological trauma from the cruel realities of incarceration.”

Alison Beyea, executive director, ACLU of Maine

“These revelations are the latest in a series of unconscionable acts of violence against young people detained at Long Creek. The entire project of incarcerating young people is violent, and it must end now. Children do not belong in prison.

“Governor Mills had the opportunity to close Long Creek earlier this year by signing LD 1668 into law. But she vetoed the bill, saying it didn’t account for public safety. We disagree. Long Creek’s continued operation degrades public safety. Incarceration traumatizes young people, especially LGBTQ youth and youth of color who are overrepresented at Long Creek.

“Public safety means no kids in prison. It means kids receiving the help and support they need, close to home, so that they can lead thriving lives. Despite her veto, Governor Mills has the power to close Long Creek. She should use it.”

Mary Bonauto，GLAD 民權項目主任

“Reports issued to the State on conditions at Long Creek in 2017 and again in 2020 highlighted concerns regarding the use of restraints, absent or inconsistent staff training, and the failure of the adults to use de-escalation techniques and bring in mental health counselors rather than force. It was not long ago that the State settled an excessive force case brought by the ACLU of Maine on behalf of an 11-year-old who had his face slammed into a metal bed frame by correctional officers. These young people are entrusted to the care of the State of Maine.

“For any number of reasons, and despite good faith efforts by many involved, Long Creek is not working and not providing rehabilitation. The legislature agreed in the last session, as shown by the passage of LD 1668, which set out a years-long plan for closing Long Creek and justly transitioning workers employed there. These concerns remain, and the State needs to provide immediate oversight to end this brutal treatment now.”

詳細了解 Maine Youth Justice 和緬因州美國公民自由聯盟.

Wins for Transgender Equality as the Maine Legislative Session Ends

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Proposals targeting transgender girls and women for exclusion in sports and shelters were both defeated in the 2021 session

GLAD, Equality Maine, MaineTrans.Net, ACLU ME, ME Women's Lobby

July 20, 2021 (AUGUSTA) – The Maine Senate adjourned for the session last night without taking up a proposal that would have banned transgender girls from participating in school sports (LD 926), thereby killing the measure. The House voted against the bill in June before the recess. A separate bill (LD 1238) that would have allowed shelters to turn away transgender women or any woman because of their race, national origin, religion, disability, or sexual orientation was also voted down in both the House and Senate in June.

EqualityMaine, MaineTransNet, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), ACLU of Maine, the Maine Women’s Lobby, and the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics issued the following statements heralding the defeat of both measures:

Gia Drew, Program Director at EqualityMaine: “Once again Mainers have stood up for fairness by saying no to harmful proposals that would ban transgender girls from school sports and deny transgender women access to shelter and vital social services. As students, parents, coaches, and pediatricians testified, transgender girls who play sports simply want and deserve the same opportunity as their peers to be part of a team, to feel like they belong, and to develop important qualities like leadership, self-respect, and teamwork. The Maine legislature has sent a message to transgender kids that they belong.”

Quinn Gormley, Executive Director, MaineTransNet: “I’m proud to see our Maine legislators support inclusion for transgender girls and women. I know well from my own work in the community that transgender women experience some of the highest rates of housing insecurity, harassment, and violence among women in Maine. There is always more work our state can do to ensure our social service networks can fully support all women in times of need, but in defeating LD 1238 the legislature recognized that allowing shelters to turn away some of our most vulnerable community members is counter to that goal.”

Meagan Sway, Policy Director, ACLU of Maine: “It’s a relief to see the legislature stop these misguided bills targeting transgender girls and women. Efforts to ban trans girls from participating in girls’ sports jeopardize their mental health, physical well-being, and ability to access education opportunities similar to other students. Efforts to ban trans women from shelters would deny shelter to some of our most vulnerable community members when they need help the most. Today our state has once again affirmed the truth: all children and adults, including trans children and trans people, belong in Maine.”

Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD Civil Rights Project Director “We all care about equity and opportunity for girls, but banning transgender girls from all programs and activities from pre-k through college is only about exclusion. We are happy that the legislature saw the proposed sports ban as a red herring that would generate no new opportunities for cisgender girls but would inflict real harm on transgender young people. Maine has had transgender athletes participating in sports for years, including under a 2013 policy for interscholastic sports of the Maine Principals’ Association. Allowing young people to develop and grow as people through participating in sports is good for them and when they are stronger, our communities are, too.”

Destie Hohman Sprague, Executive Director, Maine Women’s Lobby: “With these votes, the legislature affirmed a simple fact: every Mainer deserves to live with safety and respect. For those who experience abuse or housing insecurity, community organizations help fill that gap. Organizations that exist to ensure that safety are exactly the right places to welcome and affirm trans Mainers, and there is no place for legislation in our state that does not guarantee the rights of everyone to live in dignity, free from abuse.”

Dee Kerry, Executive Director, The Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics: “We applaud the state legislature for upholding the rights of transgender children to be able to play on teams according to the gender they live in. The vast majority of youth this bill would have harmed are school-age children who just want to play on a sports team and have fun. As pediatricians, we will always stand up for the health and well-being of all children and advocate for their right to live full and healthy lives. The trend of anti-transgender legislation being introduced and enacted across the nation is alarming and Maine legislators have shown that discrimination has no place in our state.”

At a public hearing on these bills on May 6, transgender youth and their families, nontransgender student athletes, coaches, pediatricians, school administrators, shelter service providers, social workers, community advocates, and more all provided powerful testimony against the proposed transgender student sports ban and exclusionary shelter bill:

Lane J., Kittery high school sophomore and soccer player: I absolutely love the sport of soccer. I have played on girls’ soccer teams for the last 5 years. Playing soccer has always been the highlight of my day each summer and fall: it’s my opportunity to work out, to collaborate with other girls with the same passion, and just have fun. I have been completely accepted by my coaches and teammates. Please don’t deny other transgender girls the opportunity to have these experiences, and the ability to be on a team, having fun, being active, and learning about sportsmanship.

Dr. Michele LaBotz, sports medicine doctor for over 20 years: The participation of transgender girls in girls’ athletic teams does not disadvantage their teammates. Athletic performance depends upon many factors including physiological, mental, and social. The best practice for student-athlete development is when success is based upon the growth of athletic skill of a team or individual, rather than attempts to eliminate rightful participants due to concern about the possible loss of performance advantage.

Gianna Romano, Assistant Coach and former high school athlete: [If transgender girls were banned from girls’ sports when I was playing] I may not have been able to play at all. At the time, our numbers were declining and we needed anyone and everyone willing to try the sport out. In a time where schools are being forced to combine teams and co-op for different sports, I am perplexed as to why we would even be considering a law that would make it even more challenging to attract participants.

Ali Lovejoy, VP of Social Work, Preble Street: To say that we must choose either the safety of cisgender women or the safety of transgender women is a false choice…The impact of this bill would be to systematically exclude women – women who experience higher rates of trauma, violence, and homelessness – from the most basic resources necessary to stay alive.

Andrea Mancuso, Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence: We know from decades of experience that perpetuating discriminatory policies against any group of identity does not increase safety in shelter programs. Any disruptive behavior that might occur at a shelter can be dealt with under existing shelter policies that apply to all residents equally.

Equality Maine works to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Maine through political action, community organizing, education, and collaboration. www.equalitymaine.org

MaineTransNet is Maine’s transgender community organization dedicated to supporting and empowering transgender people and those that love them. www.mainetrans.net

ACLU of Maine is the state’s guardian of liberty. It is active in the courts, the legislature, and the public sphere to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and to extend their promises to all Mainers. www.aclumaine.org

透過策略性訴訟、公共政策倡議和教育，GLBTQ 法律倡導者和辯護人致力於在新英格蘭和全國範圍內創建一個沒有基於性別認同和表達、愛滋病毒狀況和性取向的歧視的公正社會。 www.gladlaw.org

The Maine Women’s Lobby engages in legislative advocacy which increases the health, wellness, safety, and economic security of women and girls in Maine, and all Mainers who experience gender-based discrimination or oppression. www.mainewomen.org

部落格

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This year on Give OUT Day we want to say thank you to all of our supporters for showing up for us all year long. We also want to share the love by encouraging GLAD supporters to learn about groups doing important work near you.

The following list features some of our New England partners and other organizations whose innovative work we want to highlight. Our sincere gratitude– we couldn’t do this work without you.

Affirming Spaces Project

新罕布夏州

Affirming Spaces Project (ASP), scheduled to launch in August 2021, will serve the trans and GNC community of NH, primarily by connecting TGNC persons with local TGNC-friendly businesses and services. ASP also plans to engage in community education and advocacy.

Donate to Affirming Spaces Project

Coyote RI

羅德島

Coyote, which stands for “Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics,” was originally founded in 1973 by Margo St. James, who filed and won a class-action lawsuit in 1979 to decriminalize indoor sex work in RI. Coyote, which resumed its activism in 2010 in response to Rhode Island’s full criminalization of prostitution in 2009, is a coalition of current and former sex workers that advocates for the human, health, labor, and civil rights of sex workers in RI and across the nation.

Donate to Coyote RI

Kamora’s Cultural Corner

Hartford, CT

Founded by activist Kamora Herrington, Kamora’s Cultural Corner (KCC) centers Black LGBTQ+ artists and their perspectives, intentionally creating spaces for community building, healing, and connection through Black queer art. In November 2020, KCC held a “Black Art Heals Tour” to exhibit their art throughout the Southeast.

Donate to Kamora’s Cultural Corner

Maine Inside Out

Portland, ME

Maine Inside Out (MIO), founded in 2008, holds theater programs at Long Creek Youth Development Center, Maine’s youth correctional facility. MIO continues to engage youth upon their release from Long Creek through community engagement, peer and adult support, participant-led advocacy, leadership development, and practical skill-building.

Donate to Maine Inside Out

Out in the Open

Brattleboro, VT

Out in the Open is a multi-issue social justice movement connecting rural LGBTQ people to build community, visibility, knowledge, and power. Last year, Out in the Open organized a Rural Community Care Support Network to provide mutual aid to the rural LGBTQ+ VT community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Donate to Out in the Open

現已推出

Springfield, MA

Out Now, founded in 1995, provides a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to learn about and explore themselves and the history of the LGBTQ+ movement while developing leadership skills. Out Now’s many programs include an Our Liberation! Theater of the Oppressed workshop.

Donate to Out Now

Sisters Unchained

Jamaica Plain, MA

Founded in 2015 by Ayana Aubourg, Meron Teklehaimanot, and Vanessa Ly, Sisters Unchained provides a safe space for the daughters of formerly and presently incarcerated mothers to heal and realize transformative social change. Sisters Unchained is a prison-abolitionist organization supporting community-based alternatives to incarceration.

Donate to Sisters Unchained

羅德島州TGI網絡

Providence, RI

TGI Network was founded in 2011 and serves trans, intersex, and GNC (TGI) Rhode Islanders through support, advocacy, and education. TGI Network currently offers three peer-led support groups for questioning persons, TGI persons, and their loved ones.

Donate to TGI Network of RI

Governor Mills Signs Juvenile Justice Right to Counsel and Due Process Bill

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Governor Mills has signed LD 320 An Act to Provide the Right to Counsel for Juveniles and Improve Due Process for Juveniles into law. The law applies needed reforms to Maine’s juvenile legal system that will divert young children from incarceration and ensure that when youth are incarcerated they have an advocate in their corner able to articulate their concerns and ask for a closer look at their circumstances.

LD 320 will provide justice-involved youth with both the right to counsel upon incarceration and due process rights to seek alternatives to incarceration. It sets a minimum age of twelve for commitment to a juvenile correctional facility and provides that younger children may be detained no more than 7 days unless their lawyers agree. The bill ends the minimum one-year commitment to juvenile correctional facilities and requires judges to consider both the age of a young person and whether the offense committed would be considered a juvenile misdemeanor when deciding whether incarceration is appropriate. Rep. Victoria Morales of South Portland, who represents the District containing Long Creek Youth Development Center, sponsored the bill.

Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director, issued the following statement applauding the signing of the bill:

“Among our highest duties as a society is the care and support of young people. This is a step forward in shrinking the role of the criminal justice system in young people’s lives. LD 320 seeks to limit the use of secure confinement for Maine’s youngest children and provides all incarcerated young people with legal representation to seek the care, opportunities and support they need to be accountable, heal, and grow in healthy ways. This law recognizes that punitive measures are harmful and counterproductive to these goals and to public safety. Too many LGBTQ youth, youth of color, youth with disabilities, youth with limited financial means, and youth belonging to all of these categories, are pulled into the correctional system with unintended but significant long-term consequences. Most often, youth become entangled in the system for low level offenses and because there are no community services in place to keep them in their communities and connected to family and school. We’ve had many reports detailing the negative impacts of incarceration on children and their communities as well as recommendations for what our state needs to do to address those impacts. This bill is a positive step to move Maine forward and enable young people to succeed in taking their places in our communities.”

GLAD also testified in support of LD 1668, a bill led by Maine Youth Justice would that set a timetable for closing Long Creek over a period of years, provide a just transition for state workers, and reallocate resources into health care, education, employment and housing opportunities for youth. The legislature passed LD 1668 but it was vetoed by the governor.

Learn more about LD 320.

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June 18, 2021 (AUGUSTA) – Yesterday the Maine legislature voted down a proposal (LD 1238) that would have allowed women’s shelters across the state to turn away transgender women or any woman they wanted to – whether because of their race, national origin, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.

A second proposal targeting transgender girls for exclusion from school sports was voted down 80-53 in the House late last night, and is still pending a vote in the Senate when the legislature reconvenes June 30. That bill received strong opposition at a May public hearing from coaches, pediatricians, transgender youth and their parents and peers, as well as Maine officials and organizations, including the Attorney General, former Chief Justice Leigh Saufley, the Maine Principals’ Association, and the Human Rights Commission.

Shelter service providers, community service and justice organizations spoke out against the shelter bill (LD 1238) and are applauding the legislature’s actions to support inclusion of transgender women, and all people, in need of survival and emergency services.

“Once again Mainers have stood up for fairness by saying no to harmful proposals that would deny transgender women access to shelter and vital social services. Shelters across our state play a critical role in providing safety to women in need. Turning transgender women away from shelters puts those women at risk of exactly the type of mistreatment and abuse our shelter services are meant to prevent,” said Gia Drew, Program Director at EqualityMaine.

“I’m proud to see our Maine legislators support inclusion for transgender women. I know well from my own work in the community that transgender women experience some of the highest rates of housing insecurity, harassment and violence among women in Maine. There is always more work our state can do to ensure our social service networks can fully support all women in times of need, but in defeating LD 1238 the legislature recognized that allowing shelters to turn away some of our most vulnerable community members is counter to that goal,” said Quinn Gormley , Executive Director, MaineTransNet.

“It’s a relief to see the legislature stop this misguided bill that targeted transgender women and would have opened the door to discrimination in shelters on the basis race, national origin, religion, disability, or sexual orientation as well. Efforts to ban trans women from shelters would deny shelter to some of our most vulnerable community members when they need help the most. Today our state has once again affirmed the truth: all people, including trans people, belong in Maine,” said Meagan Sway, Policy Director, ACLU of Maine

“We know we can accommodate all women, transgender or not, when they are in need of emergency and homeless shelter because, as legislators heard at the hearing on LD 1238, the dedicated individuals who staff and run our shelters have been doing just that. Managing the stress and conflict that can occur when individuals are experiencing trauma, vulnerability and less privacy and autonomy is some of the hard work performed by shelter staff and management. Women seek out shelter services when they are at their most vulnerable, whether due to trauma, houselessness, or violence. With this vote our legislators affirmed the inclusion required by law, and also what shelter providers said at the hearing: that all women, including transgender women, deserve access to survival services. This is the record we’ve built in Maine; we treat all humans with dignity and respect,” said Mary L. Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders

“With this vote the legislature affirmed a simple fact: every Mainer deserves to live with safety and respect. For those who experience abuse or housing insecurity, community organizations help fill that gap. Organizations that exist to ensure that safety are exactly the right places to welcome and affirm trans Mainers, and there is no place for legislation in our state that does not guarantee the rights of everyone to live in dignity, free from abuse,” said Destie Hohman Sprague, Executive Director, Maine Women’s Lobby

緬因州平等組織 works to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Maine through political action, community organizing, education, and collaboration. www .equalitymaine.org

MaineTransNet is Maine’s transgender community organization dedicated to supporting and empowering transgender people and those that love them. www.mainetrans.net

緬因州美國公民自由聯盟 is the state’s guardian of liberty. It is active in the courts, the legislature and the public sphere to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and to extend their promises to all Mainers. www.aclumaine.org

透過策略性訴訟、公共政策倡議和教育， GLBTQ 法律倡議者與捍衛者 致力於在新英格蘭和全國範圍內創建一個沒有基於性別認同和表達、愛滋病毒狀況和性取向的歧視的公正社會。 www.gladlaw.org

The Maine Women’s Lobby engages in legislative advocacy which increases the health, wellness, safety, and economic security of women and girls in Maine, and all Mainers who experience gender-based discrimination or oppression. www.mainewomen.org

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2021 年 6 月 18 日（奧古斯塔）— GLBTQ 法律倡導者和捍衛者 (GLAD) 今天對州長 Janet Mills 簽署 LD 1115 的消息表示歡迎， 改善愛滋病預防藥物取得途徑的法案，哪個擴大訪問範圍一種簡單、安全、有效的藥物，即愛滋病毒暴露前預防 (PrEP)，可將愛滋病毒傳播風險降低近 100%。該法案由坎伯蘭參議員希瑟·桑伯恩發起，眾議院議長瑞安·費克托、參議員內德·克拉克斯頓和納坦·利比共同發起，獲得了兩黨支持。同性戀者反歧視聯盟 (GLAD) 是致力於推動該法案通過的聯盟成員，並在立法機構中作證。

新法授權藥師在短期內無需處方即可配發PrEP以及HIV暴露後預防用藥（PEP）。該法律還要求承保方在無需事先授權或分步療法的情況下承保至少一種HIV預防藥物，並在緬因州法律中納入聯邦監管要求，即PrEP必須由私人保險公司提供且無需共付額，從而降低了獲取PrEP的障礙。此外，透過要求藥劑師將顧客與醫療機構聯繫起來，以進行持續的PrEP監督並滿足其他重要的健康需求，該法律還將改善整體醫療服務的可及性。緬因州是全美第三個通過此類立法的州，這將使包括緬因州農村社區在內的最弱勢群體能夠快速獲得PrEP。

「暴露前預防（PrEP）為我們提供了結束愛滋病毒流行的最佳機會，」 Ben Klein，GLAD 資深律師兼愛滋病法律計畫主任「儘管PrEP的安全性和有效性已被證實，但它的處方量和利用率仍然不足，尤其是在醫療保健服務獲取不平等且感染艾滋病毒風險更高的人群中。這項法案將大大有助於開放PrEP的獲取渠道，並幫助我們終結艾滋病毒疫情。”

「這項法律使緬因州在確保所有需要並能從中受益的人都能獲得 PrEP 和 HIV 暴露後預防 (PEP) 方面處於領先地位，」他補充道 GLAD 法律研究員 Anthony Lombardi, 世界衛生組織作證代表同性戀者反歧視聯盟 (GLAD) 在立法聽證會上表示：「這項法律將特別為農村社區和有色人種社區的人們提供更多機會。在這些社區，包括經濟和資源不平等以及系統性種族主義在內的結構性障礙使人們容易受到愛滋病毒感染風險增加和整體健康狀況較差的影響。」

在一個支持該立法的社區立場聲明超過 30 個組織、倡議者和醫療專業人士解釋了擴大 PrEP 取得管道的影響：

簡而言之，HIV暴露前預防（PrEP）是HIV預防領域的重大突破；它是一種簡單、安全的每日服用藥片，可將HIV傳播風險降低近100%。對於我們當中最脆弱的群體，包括有色人種、居住在農村地區的人群、被監禁的人群以及正在努力保持安全的注射毒品人群，通過任何簡單易得的途徑以低成本或免費獲得這種藥物至關重要。 HIV暴露後預防（PEP）同樣重要且必要，應在潛在HIV暴露後立即進行，包括在性侵犯情況下。我們需要竭盡全力擴大PrEP/PEP的可近性，並創造更多途徑減少HIV傳播。

除了 GLAD 之外，主張透過 改善愛滋病預防藥物取得途徑的法案 包括緬因州平等組織, 弗蘭妮皮博迪中心，以及健康公平聯盟.

訊息

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GLAD 讚揚緬因州法律更新，允許擴大自願確認親子關係的途徑

米爾斯州長簽署 LD 222 法案，更新緬因州親子法

2021 年 6 月 11 日（奧古斯塔）— 州長珍妮特·米爾斯簽署了 LD 222， 緬因州親子法更新法案該法律更新了緬因州的親子關係法規，以擴大自願親子關係確認 (VAP) 的可及性。這是一種長期以來用於確認親子關係的簡單機制，但此前緬因州的許多父母（包括 LGBTQ 父母）都無法使用。聯邦法律要求所有州提供簡單的民事程序，以便在孩子出生時確認其親子關係。這確保了親子關係的保護和責任在孩子出生後儘快生效，並確保父母雙方的身份都反映在孩子的出生證明上。在美國，每年大多數非婚父母所生的孩子都是透過 VAP 確認親子關係的，VAP 相當於法院的親子關係判決書。 VAP 是自願簽署的，可幫助父母避免確認親子關係的訴訟費用、延誤和壓力。由家庭法律諮詢委員會起草並由主要發起人眾議員芭芭拉·卡多內提出的 LD 222 擴大了 VAP 的可及性，以便更多兒童可以通過這種簡單的行政程序受到保護。親生父母一直以來都可以透過自願確認親子關係（VAP）來確認親子關係，而這項法律擴大了透過輔助生殖技術獲得預期父母的權利，而推定父母也可以簽署自願確認親子關係（VAP）來確認其子女的親子關係。 2017年《統一親子關係法》建議擴大自願確認親子關係的管道。《統一親子關係法》是由無黨派的統一法律委員會制定的示範性法定語言，旨在確保各州的親子關係法符合憲法，並為所有兒童提供平等的獲得合法親子關係保障的機會，無論其父母的性別或婚姻狀況如何。 FLAC建議大幅更新緬因州的親子關係法 2015 年，在 Mary Bonauto 等人的協助下，立法機關批准了該建議，並透過緬因州親子關係法案 (MPA) 承認了家庭形成的多種方式。儘管 MPA 對 LGBTQ 父母給予了同等的認可，但並不包括獲得自願援助計劃 (VAP) 的權利。該法案更新了緬因州法律，以反映 2017 年 UPA 的建議，並確保兒童有更多機會獲得親子關係。 GLAD 資深律師 Polly Crozier 表示：「與父母建立牢固的法律關係對孩子的幸福和穩定至關重要，這項法律更新使更多緬因州兒童能夠獲得這種保障。自願援助計劃是一種從孩子出生起就確立其合法親子關係的直接方法。擴大自願援助計劃的覆蓋範圍為 LGBTQ父母提供了一種公平、公正且負擔得起的方式，讓他們盡可能在孩子出生前就對其進行保護。康乃狄克州最近頒布了《康乃狄克州親子法》自 2022 年 1 月 1 日起，LGBTQ 父母將可使用 VAP。有關 VAP 的更多資訊可以在這裡找到。

Alternative Discipline, Not Criminal Punishment, in Maine Schools

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GLAD opposes Maine’s LD 1444 because it creates a new crime that would have serious and long-term negative effects on young people.

In testimony to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, GLAD and EqualityMaine explained that the bill “…creates a crime that will have disastrous collateral effects for young people over their lifetimes and will not accomplish its goals in any event. The anti-bullying law enacted in 2011 recommends that schools consider “alternative discipline” rather than school exclusion or criminal penalties for addressing the consistent bullying of socially marginalized students. Other bills before the Legislature rightly seek to explore the uses of restorative processes to promote responsibility and accountability without exclusion from school or channeling young people into the criminal system.”

Instead, we would “like to see dedicated, enhanced, and creative efforts to build schools as zones of mutual respect that help prepare students for success in a diverse and ever-changing world and in which teachers and staff can support student learning and development.”

Read GLAD and EqualityMaine’s full testimony.

Addressing Discrimination Complaints in Maine Schools

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GLAD supports the goals of LD 1512, which would create an Office of the Education Ombudsman, which would serve as a resource and facilitate complaints for parents and students in the Maine’s public school system. The bill also directs the Department of Education to establish a commission to explore possible reporting and response systems to help public schools address reports of discrimination and harassment.

Read testimony delivered by GLAD and EqualityMaine.