L-R Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sara Gideon (images via campaigns)Quinnipiac University Polling released a new poll today showing 4-term Republican Senator Susan Collins trailing her Democratic challenger Sara Gideon by a whopping 12 points (54-42). From the latest survey:
• 89% of likely voters who selected a candidate in the Senate matchup say their minds are made up; 10% say they might change their minds before the election
• Collins has a negative favorability rating (43% approve, 51% disapprove) while Gideon garners a positive 49% favorability rating versus 37% unfavorable
• Asked if the candidates care about average people, 60% of voters say that Gideon cares and while say 51% believes that Collins cares
• 53% of voters say that they would want to see the Democratic Party win control of the United States Senate
Collins won her last election with nearly 70% of the vote. The same poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 21 points (59% to 38%).
Maine has become the 17th state to ban so-called ‘conversion therapy’ for minors.
The legislation prohibits state-licensed counselors, psychologists, social workers, health professionals, guidance counselors and pastoral therapists from engaging in the harmful practice of trying to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Lawmakers in Maine passed a similar bill last year, but the legislation was vetoed by former Republican Gov. Paul LePage. His veto made him the only governor in the U.S. to veto a ban on conversion therapy.
Today, however, Gov. Janet Mills enthusiastically signed the bill into law saying in a statement, “Conversion therapy is a harmful, widely-discredited practice that has no place in Maine.”
“By signing this bill into law today, 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,” she added.
Today I signed into law a bill banning conversion therapy, a widely-discredited practice that has no place in Maine. Today, we send an unequivocal message to young LGBTQ people: we stand with you, we support you, and we will always defend your right to be who you are. pic.twitter.com/heInzibvFJ
— Governor Janet Mills (@GovJanetMills) May 29, 2019
Conversion therapy has been widely denounced by leading professional medical associations including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association.
Studies have shown that the harmful practice can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide.
The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, is invested in ending conversion therapy in every state.
Sam Brinton, Head of Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project, applauded Maine’s efforts to help LGBTQ youth.
“After the disappointment of last year’s veto, they came back stronger and passed legislation to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of conversion therapy,” said Brinton in a statement. “We will continue to push each and every day to insure that every state in the country follows Maine’s example and ends this cruel practice once and for all.”
Maine Gov. Paul LePage has vetoed legislation that would have protected LGBTQ youth from the harmful practice of so-called “conversion therapy.”
In doing so, LePage becomes the first governor in the United States to veto such legislation.
The vetoed bill, LD 912, would have prohibited the advertising, offering or administering conversion therapy to individuals under 18 years of age in Maine as an unfair trade practice, penalizing mental health workers who engage in the practice with loss of their license.
Included in the bill was a carve-out for members of the clergy as long as they didn’t receive any monetary compensation.
LePage told state lawmakers in a statement he was concerned about the ‘religious liberty’ of parents to decide how and if their children are exposed to the dangerous practice.
This isn’t LePage’s first trip to the anti-LGBTQ rodeo.
In 2016, LePage famously left a profanities-laced voicemail message for a political opponent that included the use of the anti-gay slur “cocksucker.”
To date, 14 states – Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, Hawaii, New Hampshire – plus Washington, D.C. have enacted legislation to ban the widely discredited practice of “ex-gay” therapy.
Even in his own party, the Republican governor is woefully out of step.
GOP governors in New Jersey, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Maryland and New Hampshire have understood the dangers “conversion therapy” can have on young people.
Mainstream medical organizations including the American Psychological Association, the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have all denounced the practice.
The Maine bill passed in the state House by 80-55 and in the Maine Senate 19-12 in a special legislative session last month.
LGBTQ advocacy organizations are calling for state lawmakers to override the governor’s veto.
Marty Rouse, HRC National Field Director, issued a statement which read, in part, “Governor LePage’s shameful decision to veto this life-saving legislation leaves Maine’s LGBTQ youth at risk of being subjected to a practice that amounts to nothing less than child abuse.”
“These crucial protections are supported by a bipartisan majority, and have been signed into law in a growing number of other states by both Democratic and Republican governors — including by the Republican governor in neighboring New Hampshire mere weeks ago.”
“With this inexcusable decision, Governor LePage has become the only governor in the nation to veto legislation protecting young people from this abuse, solidifying his place in history’s hall of shame.”
Janson Wu, executive director of GLBTQ Advocates & Defenders, called LePage’s veto a “heartless and dangerous action” that leaves LGBT lives at risk.
“Gov. LePage had an opportunity to protect Maine youth from these harms, and to ensure parents are not misled into subjecting their children to an unsafe and ineffective so-called ‘treatment,’” Wu said.
“Instead, the governor has sent a signal that the risk of hurting LGBTQ youth is acceptable.”
• Loving this new InstaHunk account find – Muscle_Woof (above). #WoofWoof
• A local veteran in a small Maine town has a big problem with a rainbow flag flying during Pride Month calling the show of LGBT support a “travesty.”
• Researchers in Australia have found a direct correlation between low cognitive ability and folks who hate gays.
• Promising news from the National Institutes of Health – a new experimental HIV vaccine has been shown to neutralize dozens of HIV strains from around the world.
• Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt asked a top aide to purchase a “used mattress” from the Trump International Hotel for him…?
• UK trio Clean Bandit dropped their new self-directed music video for their single “Solo” featuring Demi Lovato released earlier this month which garnered over 20 million streams during its first week.
The song is a paean to “self-love” (solo, get it?) and even better, the story resolves with a rainbow-furred dog. What’s not to like? Hit the play button below 🙂
• Alabama Senator Doug Jones has become the 46th co-sponsor to The Equality Act, which seeks to add ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’ protections to existing civil rights laws. Jones says his (hottie) openly gay son Carson’s coming out helped shape his political views on LGBTQ rights.
• Amazon video just got that much more gay as the streaming giant has just added dozens and dozens of LGBTQ films that screened at Outfest in L.A. to Amazon Prime.
• A recent report by Goldman Sachs analysts pointed out that curing diseases doesn’t make nearly as much money for Pharma companies as creating drugs that treat (but don’t cure) chronic illnesses. The statement adds fuel to the conspiracy theory that should cures for diseases like AIDS might be discovered, they might be withheld in favor of “treatment” drugs.
• The Maine House of Representatives has approved legislation that would protect LGBTQ youth from so-called “ex-gay therapy.”
• It appears Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, liked to record conversations with associates. Folks in TrumpLand are worried some of those recordings which might have been included in the Monday raid on Cohen’s offices, contain material damaging to Trump.
• Olympian Adam Rippon opened last night’s GLAAD Media Awards by calling his bestie Gus Kenworthy onstage and explaining, “I’ve had such a big year, but my biggest achievement so far is finally getting Gus to come out of his shell. Four years ago he was afraid to kiss his boyfriend after he won silver in Sochi. Now, he’s unleashed.”
Gus agreed saying, “Literally, I’ll kiss anybody.” And with that laid a big smooch on Adam.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage attempts to rebuke the idea that he’s a racist by blaming people of color for his state’s war on drugs:
“Look, a bad guy is a bad guy, I don’t care what color it is. When you go to war, if you know the enemy, the enemy dresses in red and you dress in blue, you shoot at red, don’t you?”
“You shoot at the enemy. You try to identify the enemy. And the enemy right now, the overwhelming majority right now coming in are people of color or people of Hispanic origin. I can’t help that. I just can’t help it. Those are the facts.”
How do you think he did?
Of course, this comes a day after he called a state legislator a “cocksucker” for having a different opinion.
“Mr. Gattine, this is Gov. Paul Richard LePage,” the audio recording says. “I would like to talk to you about your comments about my being a racist, you (obscene term). I want to talk to you. I want you to prove that I’m a racist. I’ve spent my life helping black people and you little (obscene term), socialist (obscene term). You — I need you to — just friggin’. I want you to record this and make it public because I am after you. Thank you.”
It may come as no surprise that LePage is an ardent supporter of Donald Trump.
In an interview today, the governor also said if this were 1825 he would challenge Gattine to a duel and shoot him between the eyes.
After a five year legal battle, and paying a record $50,000 fine, the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage has finally handed over it’s donor list as ordered by the courts to the Maine Ethics Commission.
In 2009, the organization funneled over $2 million to the anti-gay Stand for Marriage Maine political action committee, which supported a referendum to overturn a same-sex marriage law passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Baldacci.
A later referendum in 2012 reinstated marriage equality.
NOM has tried to by-pass state campaign finance laws regarding the 2009 campaign, and has refused to file their donor list.
Until now. Having run out of options to avoid the inevitable, NOM has given up.
The donor list includes a mix of in- and out-of-state donors who gave NOM between $50,000 and $750,000 in individual donations. The largest donor was Sean Fieler of New York City, who is the president of Chiaroscuro Foundation and gave a total of $1.25 million.
The only donor listed from Maine was Richard Kurtz of Cape Elizabeth, who gave $50,000. There are only six names on the list, plus about $5,300 of “unitemized contributions.”
That’s quite the “national” organization, huh? Only SIX donors.
And only one from Maine.
Gee, Brian Brown, I can’t imagine why there were all those calls of “out of state interference.”
The virulently anti-gay National Organization for Marriage has lost yet again in it’s efforts to hide their donor list from their campaign against marriage equality in Maine.
Maine’s ethics commission fined the National Organization for Marriage $50,250 last year for violating the state’s campaign finance laws and ordered it to file a campaign finance report that would reveal who supported the 2009 referendum that struck down Maine’s gay marriage law.
The group sought to delay filing of the report, pending the outcome of its appeal in court of the commission’s decision.
But the Maine Supreme Court denied that request Tuesday, saying it’s unlikely that NOM will be successful in its appeal.
Brian Brown, president of the group, said he believes NOM is being unfairly targeted because of its views on marriage.
