Last week, national outcry erupted as Republicans in Florida and Texas passed draconian anti-LGBTQ legislation. The two bills, which cruelly target gay and trans children and have led to businesses threatening to leave the states, are just the latest in a national tide of Republican-led bills attacking the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ Americans. As this cruel legislative trend spreads around the country, Maine people deserve to know whether the notoriously anti-LGBTQ+ former Governor Paul LePage would seek to adopt similar legislation if re-elected.

When LePage was Governor, he frequently used both rhetoric and policy to attack LGBTQ+ Mainers. During his eight years in the Blaine House, he:

  • Vetoed legislation to ban conversion therapy, a cruel practice aimed at changing a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity proven to harm LGBTQ+ youth

  • Joined multiple lawsuits to deny LGBTQ+ Americans their constitutional anti-discrimination rights

  • Opposed the voter-approved legalization of same-sex marriage

  • Received praise from anti-gay organizations for portraying homosexuality in negative terms after he made a crude joke about Senator Troy Jackson, saying Jackson claims “to be for the people but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline”

The Christian Civic League, one of the anti-gay organizations to praise LePage after his comments about Senator Jackson, still supports LePage and is actively advocating for Maine Republicans to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation similar to the bills in Florida and other states.

"When Maine's conversion therapy ban bill passed in the Maine House and the GOP-controlled Senate, I'll never forget Paul LePage's hateful veto of the bill to protect LGBTQ youth. At the time, he was the only governor in the country to veto a conversion therapy bill—even GOP Governors Sununu and Christie had signed bans into law in New Hampshire and New Jersey. After hundreds of Maine people came forward to share their personal stories, it was a heartbreaking day. Thankfully, Governor Mills signed that bill into law in her first year in office," said Ryan Fecteau, Speaker of the Maine House. "We can not go backwards when it comes to protecting Maine's LGBTQ kids."

“The nationwide Republican assault on LGBTQ+ rights is both sickening and dangerous,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “We are lucky to have a governor in Janet Mills who is fighting to protect LGBTQ+ Maine people from discrimination and harm. Mainers deserve to know if LePage plans to bring this monstrous legislation to Maine. We can’t let him drag us back to a time when our governor used his power to attack Maine’s LGBTQ+ community.”

Since taking office in 2019, Governor Janet Mills has been a champion for LGBTQ+ rights, most notably working with Democrats in the legislature to ban conversion therapy, reversing LePage’s years-long obstruction.

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