Maine has become the latest state to ban harmful, so-called “conversion therapy” for LBGTQ minors. “By signing this bill into law today,” said Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, “we send an unequivocal message to young LGBTQ people in Maine and across the country: We stand with you, we support you, and we will always defend your right to be who you are.”
“The bill prohibits state-licensed professionals from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors,” The Advocate reported. “Major medical and mental health professionals have denounced the practice as ineffective and harmful.” Maine came close to banning this torture last year, but the bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Paul LePage, an extremist Republican.
With Mills’ signature, the state is now the 17th to ban this practice. Colorado will join its ranks in just days, with Democratic Gov. Jared Polis set on signing legislation on May 31, as well as a second bill that will “allow Coloradans to update the gender on their birth certificate without needing surgery or a court order.”
In passing the state Rep. Ryan Fecteau-sponsored bill, “Maine has made the powerful choice to create a better climate for LGBTQ youth,” said the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders in a statement. “As Dr. Judith Glassgold, a national expert on conversion therapy and now Director of Professional Affairs for the New Jersey Psychological Association, said at the public hearing for this bill: ‘Conversion therapy puts children’s lives at risk.’”