On July 6, 2018, Paul LePage, then governor of Maine, vetoed a bill barring licensed professionals from offering conversion therapy to minors, becoming the first governor in the country to veto such a ban; the practice stayed legal for Maine minors until his successor signed a ban in May 2019.
In 2016 LePage kept the state's Human Rights Commission and Department of Education from issuing binding rules to protect transgender students, and he joined a lawsuit against federal guidance on transgender students' use of school bathrooms.
Paul LePage's Actions as Governor on Conversion Therapy and Transgender Students
- LePage Vetoed Maine's 2018 Ban on Conversion Therapy for Minors, the First Governor in the Country to Do So. On July 6, 2018, Governor Paul LePage vetoed LD 912, which would have barred licensed professionals in Maine from offering conversion therapy to anyone under 18, and the House vote to override fell short of two-thirds on July 9, 2018. The Washington Blade reported that he was the first governor in the United States, of either party, to veto such a ban. Major medical groups, among them the American Medical Association and the pediatricians' academy, reject conversion therapy, which tries to change a person's sexual orientation or transgender status. Licensed professionals in Maine remained free to provide it to minors until Governor Janet Mills signed a ban on May 29, 2019.
- LePage Blocked Binding Rules to Protect Transgender Students in Maine Schools. In February 2016 Paul LePage stopped the Maine Human Rights Commission and the Maine Department of Education from issuing rules to protect transgender students, so schools received guidelines instead, the Associated Press reported. Unlike rules, the guidelines carry no force of law. The Associated Press reported that a leading Democratic lawmaker said LePage was putting vulnerable teens at risk, and Representative Matthea Daughtry said the rules were required by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's decision for Nicole Maines, an Orono student who had been kept from the school bathroom matching her gender.
- LePage Joined a 2016 Lawsuit Against Federal Protections for Transgender Students. On May 25, 2016, Paul LePage joined a lawsuit challenging federal guidance that required schools to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity; he was one of three governors who joined nine states in the suit. In August 2016 federal Judge Reed O'Connor sided with LePage and the states and blocked the federal directive, which had told public schools to let transgender students use the facilities that match their gender identity.
Frequently Asked Questions About Paul LePage on LGBTQ rights
What is Paul LePage's record on LGBTQ rights under Trump?
Paul LePage's record on LGBTQ rights comes from his time as Maine governor: in 2018 he vetoed a ban on conversion therapy for minors, leaving the practice legal in Maine until 2019. In 2016 he blocked binding state rules protecting transgender students and joined a lawsuit against federal guidance protecting them.
Why did Paul LePage veto the conversion therapy ban?
Paul LePage wrote that the bill "is bad public policy" and raised concerns about "religious liberty," and he said he had seen "no evidence" that conversion therapy was being used in Maine. The bill had passed the Maine Senate 19 to 12 before his veto.
What did the ACLU of Maine say about Paul LePage joining the transgender bathroom lawsuit?
The ACLU of Maine's executive director, Alison Beyea, said on May 25, 2016 that by joining the suit Paul LePage "is trying to legalize discrimination and roll back equality that has been in place for years."
Last updated: 2026-10-26