Fight to stop Maine's 'transgender trafficking bill' is coming down to the wire



Parental rights advocates in Maine are campaigning to kill an LGBT activist bill that would allow the state to take custody of children whose families refuse to subject them to sex-change mutilations and other irreversible medical interventions. The legislation, LD 1735, would also effectively have Maine disregard the rights of parents in all other states and bar officials from reuniting runaway children supposedly seeking confusion-affirming treatments with their out-of-state families.

While the bill's interstate implications might ultimately set the stage for a battle before the Supreme Court, opponents of Democratic state Rep. Laurie Osher's so-called "Act to Safeguard Gender-affirming Health Care" are concerned that multitudes of children will be transmogrified and trafficked in the interim — all ostensibly for the benefit of leftist ideologues, predators, pharmacists, and willing surgeons.

Alvin Lui, president of the parental rights advocacy group Courage is a Habit, stressed to Blaze News this week that there is hope yet to stop LD 1735 from advancing.

If you want to take a chunk out of the Transgender Cult, help us stop this Transgender Trafficking Bill. Take action now, regardless of which state you live in. We provided a fast two-step process, including sample emails. Deadline Wed, Jan 24 to submit your disgust to this\u2026
— (@)

Lui indicated the Democrat-controlled state House and Senate will likely pass the bill if given the chance — even though organizations similarly captive to LGBT ideology like the World Health Organization are beginning to openly admit there is a dearth of evidence to support so-called gender-affirming care for children and adolescents.

However, a judiciary committee must first decide to advance LD 1735.

That hearing was initially scheduled for last week but is now set for 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.

"We stopped this bill in Maine last year around this time and they quietly tried to sneak it in this year again. They almost snuck it by us," said Lui. "And we brought a lot of heat."

Lui credits the attention his organization helped direct last week to LD 1735 and the resultant backlash for prompting the delay of the hearing. The official claim was that the hearing was postponed due to bad weather.

"The first reason [for the delay] was that seven days is an eternity online, as you know, in the public, in the political sphere. They're hoping that at least 1,000 stories will distract people by the time it comes around again," said Lui. "Secondly, it gives them time to reach out to the transgender hordes to give them some cover. Get emails from these transgender cults so that they look like they have support from places like EqualityMaine, which is the most radical transgender cult organization."

While advocates for the bill might be better positioned this week, so are its opponents.

Courage is a Habit, conservatives, and concerned parents in the state previously faced a squeeze when attempting to get the word out. The delay has, however, provided them with ample runway to get a concerted pressure campaign off the ground.

The parental rights group has been imploring Americans in and outside Maine to seize this last opportunity to advise the committee members — state Sens. Eric Brakey (R), Anne Carney (D), and Donna Bailey (D) and Reps. Matt Moonen (D), Amy Kuhn (D), Adam Lee (D), Stephen Moriarty (D), and Erin Sheehan (D) — against giving their blessings to legislation that might separate countless children from their parents over a "social contagion."

Courage is a Habit has simplified things by providing sample opposition letters and the email addresses of committee members on its website. Messages can be sent until Thursday, but Lui indicated that unless sent by Wednesday evening, it is unlikely they'll be read.

LD 1735 resembles similar laws and executive orders in several other states, which have been characterized as a "kidnapping" bills. Lui alternatively figures LD 1735 for a "transgender trafficking bill."

In addition to pushing confused children into the foster care system where their parents will be precluded from rescuing them, Lui suggested the bill would lead to interstate trafficking — by strangers who want to ferry kids to Maine for irreversible surgeries and for strangers who want to abduct kids on the pretense of ferrying them to Maine for such interventions.

"Schools have already told these kids that their parents are unsafe and abusive and that their parents 'don't love you and that they're out to hurt you because they don't see you for who you really are,'" said Lui. "Because they've already set the kids up to look at other people as their family, think about how easy it will be for a sex trafficker to go up to a girl, 14, 15, 16, 13, whatever, and say, 'I see you for who you are.' Call them by their right pronoun. Get them the right clothes. And say, 'I'll take you to Maine so that you can get the health care that you need. ... I'm your family now.'"

"This bill is a sex trafficker's dream come true," added Lui.

In the absence of criticism or pressure, Lui suggested the Democratic committee members might support LD 1735 reflexively because it comports with one of what he regards as the Democratic Party's animating theorems: critical race theory and queer theory. However, he intimated Democrats are unlikely to be so automatic and uncritical in cosigning the "trafficking bill" in the face of significant public outcry, hence his hope for critical mass in the pressure campaign under way.

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Fetterman highlights those taken captive by Hamas terrorists



Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is highlighting the identities of those who were abducted by Hamas terrorists in Israel earlier this month.

"My office will display every last one of the innocent Israelis kidnapped by Hamas until they are safely returned home. We won't stop sharing their stories until then," a tweet, which features a video showing posters hanging on a wall, declares.

— (@)

In a prior post, the senator noted that he had been "profoundly moved to meet with survivors of the October 7th massacre and families of Hamas' hostages."

"I met with Ronen & Orna Neutra whose son, Omer, is currently held by Hamas. The day before the attack was the last time he spoke with his parents. As a father, hearing Omer's story was heartbreaking. Together, we hung his poster to stress the urgent need to get him home," one post reads. According to the Associated Press, Neutra was born in the U.S. and is a dual citizen.

"I met with Yehuda Jefferey Beinin and his grandson Netta Alzili, whose parents Liat Beinin Atzili and Aviv Atzili were both abducted by Hamas. Liat is an American citizen. The last signal they had from her phone was in Gaza," another post states.

— (@)

While some Democrats have been advocating for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, Fetterman has pushed back against the idea.

"Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire. We must support Israel in their efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children. Hamas does not want peace, they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized," the senator said in a statement last week.

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Before executing students on film, Mexican cartel forced one of the five victims to decapitate his friend



The presumed remains of the five Mexican college students, ages 19 to 22, who went missing last Friday and were subsequently seen being butchered in a nightmarish video, have been discovered in and around a warehouse in the western state of Jalisco.

When initially asked about the grisly ordeal, which was broadcast on national television, Mexico's leftist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, joked about being unable to hear reporters, then walked away.

When pressed again about the matter on Thursday, Obrador — who previously thanked President Joe Biden for not securing the American border with "even one meter of wall" — called the situation "very regrettable," then instead spoke at length about baseball, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Five childhood friends were reported missing after attending a fair in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, on Aug. 11.

Family members later indicated that "there is a high probability" that college students Roberto Olmeda, Diego Lara, Uriel Galvan, Dante Cedillo, and Jaime Martinez were the victims seen battered, bound, and bleeding in the footage, reported the Daily Mail.

Witnesses told Héctor De Mauleón of El Universal that 10 armed men dragged the victims out of their car late last Friday and forced them into a white pickup and van with blacked-out windows.

There is some indication that at least two of the five men had been lured to the fair with the promise of gainful employment as security guards, having previously spoken with an individual who had connections in a call center.

The Daily Mail reported that the individual who had dangled employment opportunities before some of the victims was actually a Jalisco New Generation cartel member.

Cartels routinely list fake job postings, offering competitive salaries and benefits. Applicants unfortunate enough to show up are apparently given the option of death or working for the cartel. Those who choose life often have to kill on command.

According to security analyst David Saucedo Torres, the CNJG has opened multiple call centers and made "Lagos de Moreno a key operational site, specifically for recruiting and training squads of hitmen."

"The five young people who were kidnapped seem by all indications to have been caught in some sort of training program by the Jalisco Cartel, which sets tests for the new recruits — forcing them to carry out assassinations," said Torres, adding that the requirement that one captive kill the others would have been a routine initiation.

The footage broadcast on television reportedly shows one of the captives crushing his friend's head with a brick thrown to him by his off-screen captor. The captive then proceeds to decapitate his brained friend with a knife under orders.

It appears the one captive's brutal compliance didn't save his life.

The Jalisco State Prosecuto'rs Office Thursday said investigators had discovered the charred remains of four decapitated bodies along with four skulls in the western state of Jalisco, home to the terroristic CJNG — whose logo is featured in the gruesome film. The remains were inside a building near where the men were kidnapped and filmed being tortured.

Mexican authorities found a fifth body nearby in Olmeda's torched vehicle.

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro stated, "What we are seeing here is an act clearly linked to organized crime. ... These are irrational, violent and direct attacks against the stability of Jalisco state, and they demand a reaction from the [federal] government."

The U.S. State Department notes that violent crime is ubiquitous in Mexico and advises Americans not to travel to the following states: Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.

It further recommends reconsidering travel to the following states: Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Sonora, and Baja California.

For all but Campeche and Yucatan state, the U.S. federal government recommends that travelers altogether exercise caution when visiting Mexico on account of the rampant crime and/or risk of being kidnapped.

While Americans can avoid Mexico, with a porous southern border, they may find it difficult to avoid its criminal elements.

Just last week, suspected Mexican cartel members equipped with rifles and wearing body armor were seen entering Texas, reported the New York Post.

Another five suspected cartel members were encountered in the same area in June, similarly carrying rifles.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, over 144,000 illegal aliens stole into the nation in the month of June. Well over 1.8 million illegal aliens were encountered crossing the southern border in the eight previous months.

TheBlaze previously reported that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently indicated that he would not rule out using drones as president, stressing he would "use whatever force we need to to defend the country."

He stressed that the cartels are "killing tens of thousands of Americans" as well as trafficking individuals into the U.S. and perpetrating sexual abuse. "It's really the worst of humanity," he said, adding that he "would categorize them as something akin to a foreign terrorist organization."

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2 American females who had been abducted from their homes reported safe on the same day



Two American females, living tens of thousands of miles apart, were reported safe on the same day earlier this week.

On Wednesday, Janae Kalia-Henry, 13, was abducted from her home in Reading, Pennsylvania, at around 2:00 in the morning local time. Thankfully, she was found later that evening in Brooklyn, New York, approximately three hours away. She was allegedly found without shoes but was otherwise unharmed.

Detectives drove the girl safely back to her family in Pennsylvania.

\u201cBREAKING: JANAE KALIA-HENRY HAS BEEN FOUND \n\nThis is following the Amber Alert out of Reading, Berks County from earlier today. \n\nSTATE POLICE SAY SHE IS SAFE. THE AMBER ALERT IS CANCELLED\u201d
— Hanna O'Reilly (@Hanna O'Reilly) 1661988141

The NYPD and FBI arrested Dwayne Taylor, 47, of Brooklyn in connection with this case. According to the girl's family, Taylor had met Kalia-Henry's mother online a few months ago, and the two began dating. However, the relationship did not last.

The motive for the kidnapping is unclear.

The City of Reading had issued an Amber Alert on Kalia-Henry's behalf, and the 911 caller who reportedly found Kalia-Henry claimed to have found a missing girl, indicating that the Amber Alert may have affected this case.

"Let this be a lesson to anyone who’s trying to harm any of our little ones," said Eddie Moran, mayor of Reading. "We will do everything possible to make sure they will get apprehended immediately."

Taylor has yet to be charged, though he is expected to be prosecuted "in the near future," officials said.

On the same day on the other side of the world, an 83-year-old American nun named Sr. Suellen Tennyson was reportedly found safe, five months after she had been abducted from her home in Burkina Faso, a small, poor country located in the northwestern region of Africa between the Ivory Coast and Niger.

On April 4, Tennyson, a member of the Marianites of Holy Cross of Louisiana, was in the home she shared with two other nuns and two lay women when 10 armed terrorists broke into the home and kidnapped her, according to U.S. officials. Tennyson was the only American citizen among them.

On Wednesday, the Catholic Church announced that Tennyson had been returned to U.S. custody in Niamey, the capital of Niger. Though Tennyson had been taken without her blood pressure medication, she was reportedly in good health.

"We have no information on the conditions of her release but we express our profound gratitude to those who worked toward it," said Bishop Theophile Nare of Kaya, the fifth largest city in Burkina Faso.

"We are grateful to God for the safety of Sr. Suellen," said Archbishop Gregory Aymond of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, where Tennyson lived and worked for many years. She began her missionary work in Burkina Faso in 2014.



Tennyson's release seems to have been the work of several U.S. military and diplomatic officials in the region. The State Department has said that she "will soon be reunited with loved ones."