Gov. Janet Millstone and Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau had their heads handed to them by SCOTUS last week. And it wasn’t even a close call.
By a walloping margin of 8 to 1, the Supremes ruled that Colorado’s LGBTQ-inspired “conversion therapy” statute violates the First Amendment’s free-speech clause. In 2019, Maine enacted a very similar statute, LD 1025, An Act to Prohibit the Provision of Conversion Therapy to Minors by Certain Licensed Professionals, sponsored by Rep. Fecteau and scores of Democrat legislators.
Maine’s statute is seven pages of delusional gender-bender rhetoric that targets licensed therapists who do not immediately affirm the perception of a minor child claiming a “gender identity” incompatible with his or her sex observed at birth.
Counselors who refuse to comply are subject to losing their license to practice. The Maine statute lists the following professionals as subject to the gag order:
“Certified school psychologists and guidance counselors, nurses, doctors, physician assistants, psychologists, psychological examiners, alcohol and drug counselors and aides, social workers, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, pastoral counselors, and speech-language pathologists.”
Procedurally, the Colorado case now returns to the lower courts to apply the “strict scrutiny” standard, requiring the government to prove it has a compelling interest in suppressing free speech — and that the statute is narrowly tailored. Good luck with meeting either one of those high standards.
Under the Maine statute, licensed counselors are required to keep their professional opinions to themselves if they are even mildly skeptical of the notion that an 8-year-old or a 12-year-old is capable of making informed decisions about puberty blockers or genital mutilation.
Click HERE to watch my floor speech opposing LD 1025 in the Maine House of Representatives in 2019.
Maine First Project will continue to advocate for parents’ rights to protect their children from the Transgender Supremacy cult that reigns in Maine’s woefully woke K-12 government-run schools.
In closing…
We still have seating available for our free Activist Training in Augusta on May 30th. This event is by invitation only, so let me know if you’re interested.
Jon Fetherston and Jim LaBrecque will be our guest speakers
Best Regards,
Hon. Lawrence Lockman
Maine House of Representatives, 2012-2020
Co-founder & President
Maine First Project