As the chapter leader of the Norway region of ACT for America, I lead more than 100 Maine citizens. We brought LD 745 (the criminalization of female genital mutilation) to the Maine Legislature through our wonderful sponsor, Heather Sirocki. The Democrats in the House fought this bill almost from the start, except within the committee hearing, where it passed with bi-partisan support. Democratic senators voted for it unanimously.

Democratic representatives are destroying any credibility in the party. They have no policy, just oppositional obstruction. In this case, they are fighting to allow little girls to be brutally maimed, disfigured, actually tortured under vile cultural practices mandated in the sacred books of Islam — the Hadith and Shari’a. Islam is not the only purveyor of that gruesome act, but it is by far the most prevalent and “educating” followers that it is wrong won’t stop the practice. We must do all we can.

Republicans sought to simply criminalize the procedure, but have compromised with the Democrats and added an educational component, yet the Democrats still balk.

It is time to do what is right for Maine and the country and join the other 24 states that make the procedure a crime.

We will never quit on this issue and hope legislators will join us. We will pay attention to those representatives who won’t make the procedure a specific crime — a law Maine’s district attorneys have requested as necessary beyond the child abuse statutes.

Jared Bristol, Hebron

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