Maine Lawmaker Says Parents Protesting Trans Boys in Girls’ Sports Have “Pedophilic Tendencies”

In a public declaration that is shocking even for an attention-seeking liberal politician, an elected official in Maine defamed parents who oppose transgender males in girls’ sports and restrooms as having “pedophilic tendencies.” Though the egregious attack in Kennebunk may seem worse to some, it brings to mind when Hillary Clinton called Donald Trump supporters “deplorables” at a New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) fundraiser during her second failed presidential campaign in 2016. Clinton further described Trump supporters to her loyal fans as racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamophobic. Years later, Clinton doubled down on her reprehensible comments, writing in a major newspaper during a campaign to promote her latest book that deplorables is “too kind” for some Trump backers.

The Maine public official who blasted concerned parents is also sticking to her highly offensive words, refusing to apologize for calling them pedophiles because they want to protect their children. The incident occurred a few weeks ago during a school board meeting when Kennebunk Select Board member Leslie Trentalange suggested the protesting parents have “pedophilic tendencies.” A video of the appalling comments is available on the website of the local newspaper, which also quotes the elected official in a story of the October 20 school board meeting. Referring to parents who object to boys in girls’ sports and bathrooms, Trentalange said: “Their obsession with what private parts are sitting in between the legs of our students is nothing less than creepy and should absolutely be raising eyebrows in and around our school district.” She continued even as those in attendance, including members of the school board, seemed taken aback: “Their obsession with genitalia points not to caring for the students in this district, but perhaps to an underlying guilt for their own pedophilic tendencies. There is a registry for that,” the Kennebunk legislator added.

School Board Chair Matthew Stratford attempted to interrupt Trentalange’s tirade, according to the local news report and video of the meeting and called her comments “inappropriate.” She kept talking however and finished her insulting rant. The unhinged lawmaker insisted she did not think her comments were inappropriate and that she stood by them. Trentalange is the vice chair of Kennebunk’s Select Board and a school board liaison, though she reportedly stepped down from that position after her offensive testimony at the recent meeting, but remains on the Select Board. The Select Board is the town’s governing body and consists of seven elected members who serve three-year staggering terms. Among their duties and responsibilities are establishing policy, supervising Kennebunk’s manager, representing the town on various regional and state issues, and providing public leadership. The governing body’s code of conduct includes a provision that states “discussions should be conducted in a professional manner with all participants treating each other with civility and respect.” The code was designed to define the behavior, manners and courtesy expected of Select Board members as they interact with each other, Town staff, and their constituents and requires them to “demonstrate honesty and integrity in every action and statement.”

Accusing parents of being pedophiles for trying to shield their girls from the detriments of the transgender revolution does not seem to demonstrate integrity required under the town’s code for elected officials. At a follow-up board meeting Trentalange issued what the local newspaper called a “non-apology for calling protesting parents pedophiles.” She acknowledged that she made a statement that may have pushed some boundaries at the school board meeting, but “avoided in any way recanting her inflammatory statements or acknowledging that they were inappropriate,” according to the news article. The elected official did however apologize to the “queer community” for the harm caused by her comments. “If there are folks in the marginalized queer community that feel my message did not serve them or hurt them in any way, it is that which I regret,” Trentalange said. No mention of the girls harmed by outrageous policies that allow boys, who are physically much stronger and bigger, to compete on their sports teams.