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Equalitymaine Supported This Bill; It Was Passed by the Legislature and Signed Into Law by the Governor!

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Equalitymaine Supported This Bill; It Was Passed by the Legislature and Signed Into Law by the Governor! A comprehensive scorecard of how Maine legislators voted on LGBTQ+ bills during the 129th Legislature Data compiled and presented by EqualityMaine How do your state legislators score when it comes to guaranteeing a fair and just state for LGBTQ+ Mainers and their families? During the 2019 and 2020 legislative sessions, collectively known as the 129th Legislature, we saw a number of victories for LGBTQ+ Mainers and their families that were the product of successful, bipartisan cooperation, including the passage of a ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth, a ban on the gay and trans “panic” defense, and prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage for transition-related care. EqualityMaine’s legislative scorecard highlights the bills that we prioritized during the 129th Legislature. In this scorecard, you will find accurate, nonpartisan information on bills related to LGBTQ+ equality and how each member of the legislature voted on issues that affect our community. Use this scorecard to find out if your elected officials’ votes align with your values of advancing equality for LGBTQ+ Mainers. For more information about what we've been up to and how you can get involved, visit EqualityMaine.org Were your legislators champions for LGBTQ+ equality during this past term? Check out this website (or visit, using the case-sensitive link, bit.ly/FindMyLegMAINE) to enter your address and find out who your state legislators are. Each legislator and how they voted is listed on the following pages. Between now and Election Day 2020, EqualityMaine will be making sure our voters across the state know how their legislators voted on LGBTQ+ equality. Every seat in both the House of Representatives and Senate is on the ballot this year. We've seen how important and impactful it can be to have pro- equality majorities in both the House and Senate. With your help and participation in November's election, we can work to ensure that this momentum continues. 1 Our bills in the 129th Legislature: Below are summaries of each bill that we supported. On the following pages, you'll see how every legislator voted, along with information about the outcome of each bill. LD 1 - An Act to Protect Health Care Coverage for Maine Families This landmark bill put several key provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act into state law. Now, no matter what happens in Congress or in the courts, Mainers will be able to rest assured that they can get health care that includes coverage for pre-existing conditions. As a result, people living with HIV/AIDS won’t have to pay exorbitant premiums or lose access to life saving treatment. And the bill's prohibition on exclusions for trans health in private insurance plans means that so many transgender Mainers will be able to get the care that they need, when they need it. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor! LD 1025 - An Act to Prohibit the Provision of Conversion Therapy to Minors by Certain Licensed Professionals Few practices hurt LGBTQ+ youth more than attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity through so-called “conversion therapy” - the scientifically discredited premise that being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is a defect or disorder that can be treated. This bill prohibits state-licensed medical and mental health professionals from administering this “treatment” to minors. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor! 2 Our bills in the 2019 Legislature con't: LD 1475 - An Act to Eliminate Profiling in Maine This bill prohibits profiling on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, socioeconomic status, age, national origin or ancestry by law enforcement. The bill also requires that training of law enforcement officers include anti-profiling education and instruction, and directs the Attorney General to establish procedures for receiving, investigating and responding to complaints alleging profiling by law enforcement officers or law enforcement agencies. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor! LD 1632 - An Act Regarding Criminal Procedure with Respect to Allowable Defenses This bill prohibits the use of the gay and trans “panic” defense - a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity explains, and often excuses, a defendant’s violent reaction. For a community already facing a disproportionate risk of violence, the gay and trans “panic” defense quite literally adds insult to injury because it allows a defense attorney to use a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity against them in court, sending the message that violence against LGBTQ+ people is acceptable, and even justifiable. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor! Read more on the following page! 3 Our bills in the 129th Legislature con't: LD 1701 - An Act to Clarify Various Provisions of the Maine Human Rights Act This bill makes several changes to the Maine Human Rights Act in order to clarify its proper application and interpretation, including finally providing a definition of gender identity and separating it from the definition of sexual orientation. In addition, this bill requires that places of public accommodation designate all single-occupancy restrooms as gender- neutral. This does not require new construction of gender-neutral restrooms but that current single-occupancy restrooms in public places be designated as gender-neutral. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor! LD 1703 - An Act to Improve Consistency within the Maine Human Rights Act This bill makes several changes to the Maine Human Rights Act in order to achieve consistency, including clarifying that the sexual orientation provisions already in the Maine Human Rights Act extend to gender identity. Sexual orientation and gender identity are two different, though sometimes related, parts of an individual's identity and should both be protected as such. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it was passed out of committee and is awaiting final action in the House and Senate! 4 Our bills in the 129th Legislature con't: LD 1764 - An Act to Update the Maine Insurance Code This bill prohibits discrimination against people on PrEP in life insurance, disability income insurance, and long-term care insurance. PrEP is an HIV prevention strategy where HIV-negative individuals take a single pill once a day. The medication works to prevent HIV from establishing infection inside the body. By denying coverage to folks who take smart and responsible action to protect themselves, insurance companies were creating a perverse incentive for people to stop taking PrEP in order to get the insurance coverage they need. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor! LD 1771 - An Act to Amend the Law Governing Name Changes This bill makes it easier for transgender or gender nonconforming people in Maine to obtain a waiver of the publication requirement when making a legal name change, by making "reasonable fear for the person's safety" the only criteria they have to meet. For many transgender or gender nonconforming people, publishing their name change could put their safety in jeopardy by outing them to the public. At a time when transgender and gender nonconforming people experience violence at exponentially higher rates than their cisgender peers simply for being trans, this law helps reduce some of that risk by making it easier to receive a publication waiver. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor! Read more on the following page! 5 Our bills in the 129th Legislature con't: LD 1803 - An Act to Update the Laws Regarding Death and Marriage Records This bill makes changes to the laws governing marriage records and the filing, correction and amendment of death records, including removing outdated language that describes marriage as "the union of a man and a woman" to conform with the marriage equality law passed by the voters in 2012. These changes reflect the will of Maine voters who recognized all marriages as equal, not placing value on heterosexual marriages or judgement on LGBTQ+ marriages. EqualityMaine supported this bill, and it was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor! LD 1813 - Resolve, To Ensure Safe and Inclusive Learning Environments This resolve would create a working group to review and develop recommendations to ensure safe and inclusive learning environments for LGBTQ+ students and educators in Maine schools. The goals of the working group are to establish inclusive classrooms for LGBTQ+ students and educators, inclusive hiring and recruiting practices, and the creation of a curriculum audit document to recommend where LGBTQ+ voices, stories and histories are included in the curriculum, among others. EqualityMaine supported this bill; it has passed both the House and Senate and is awaiting funding from the Appropriations Committee! Note: at the time of publication of this scorecard, the legislature had adjourned in mid- March after taking emergency action on a number of COVID-19 related items. Several of our bills are stuck awaiting final action, and we are hopeful that the legislature will be able to return to a special session to complete its work. 5 129th Legislature House Votes 6 129th Legislature House Votes 7 129th Legislature House Votes 8 129th Legislature House Votes 9 129th Legislature House Votes : pro-equality A : absent for vote X : anti-equality 10 129th Legislature Senate Votes 11 129th Legislature Senate Votes : pro-equality A : absent for vote X : anti-equality 12 Visit EqualityMaine.org to learn more about how you can: Bring a training to Attend an your school or Donate Volunteer event (when workplace it's safe!) Follow us online! Instagram: @EqualityMaine Facebook: /EqualityMaine Twitter: @EqualityMaine.
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