Maine Bans LGBTQIA+ Conversion Therapy for Minors
Maine becomes the 17th state in the country to ban LGBTQIA+ conversion therapy for minors on Wednesday, May 29 after the state legislature passed the bill and Governor Janet Mills signed it officially into law. The new law will prohibit any kind or type of advertising, offering and or administering psychological therapy designed or meant to change or convert an individual person’s sexual orientation or gender identity to minors under the age of 18 years old.
The bill was sponsored and advocated for by State Representative Ryan Fecteau, the youngest openly gay or LGBTQIA+ state representative in the United States of America. The bill was passed by a Democratic Party majority state house and the state senate in the state capital city of Augusta.
Maine will now join other states nationwide that have banned the practice such as California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont as well as Washington, D.C. and the Caribbean island territory of Puerto Rico. However, 33 states and 4 territories across the country have no laws banning LGBTQIA+ conversion therapy for minors.
As of 2019, almost 35% of the country’s population lives in a place where the practice is banned and about 66% of the country’s population lives in a place where the practice is not banned. The states where conversion therapy for minors has not been banned include Texas, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, Pennslyvania, North Carolina, and Virginia.
