AUGUSTA — Maine’s first female governor is backing an effort to change state laws that refer to the governor and state justices as “he,” ”him,” or “his.”
Lawmakers planned Thursday to begin considering legislation to make such references gender neutral.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills was elected in 2018 as the state’s first female governor.
In 2001, Maine swore in its first female chief justice, Leigh Saufley.
The National Conference of State Legislatures has said at least half of the states have moved to remove references to gender for years. New York last year removed references to “policemen” and “firemen.”
Voters have approved removing gender-biased language from the state constitutions in at least five states including Maryland. Maine voters did so in 1988.
Utah, Massachusetts and Iowa are considering similar proposals.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
-
Arts & Entertainment
‘Baba Yaga’ has virtual reality movie premiere
-
Nation & World
Michigan Mega Millions ticket wins $1.05 billion jackpot
-
Arts & Entertainment
Larry King, broadcasting giant for half-century, dies at 87
-
Sports
The Atlanta Braves have resisted a name change, honoring Aaron could change that
-
Local & State
New herring rules could benefit Maine puffins
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi {SUB NAME}, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have one? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.