LGBT rights in Maine

Upon statehood in 1820, Maine continued to enforce Massachusetts law. At the time, Massachusetts law punished anal intercourse with hard labor of up to ten years. One year later, Maine enacted its own sodomy law, essentially copying the Massachusetts law, reading: "That if any man shall commit the crime against nature with a man or male child, or man or woman shall have carnal copulation with a beast..." The penalty was set at one year's solitary confinement followed by 10 years of hard labor. A revision in 1840 removed the gender-specifics (heterosexual sodomy was made criminal), the one year of solitary confinement and the hard labor provision. The penalty was finally set at a maximum of up to ten years' imprisonment.[1] This would remain unchanged until 1976.

The first court case dealing with the issue occurred in 1938. In State v. Cyr, the Maine Supreme Court unanimously ruled that fellatio (oral sex) constituted an offense and fell under the scope of the sodomy statute as being a "crime against nature". In this particular case, Cyr had engaged in oral sex with an unnamed woman. Even though the woman had performed the act, only Cyr was prosecuted. In 1939 in the case of State v. Langelier, the same court held that consent was no defense to a charge of sodomy (both consensual and non-consensual activity could be prosecuted). The sodomy law was broadened to include acts of cunnilingus in 1950 in State v. Townsend. In State v. Pratt in 1955, the state Supreme Court ruled that masturbation, despite being a "vile, unnatural and detestable sexual perversion", was not a violation of the sodomy statute.[1]

In the 1960s, a gay man prosecuted for sodomy attempted to have the law overturned as unconstitutionally vague and an invasion of privacy, though the state Supreme Court ruled against the plaintiff in State v. White in 1966. The last sodomy case was State v. Pratt decided in 1973, where the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Pratt for sodomy because the trial judge had instructed the jury that sodomy was complete upon a mere touching of a penis. The Supreme Court reiterated state law that actual penetration had to be proven.[1]

Maine repealed its statutory criminalization of same-sex sexual activity in 1976.[2] Sodomy between heterosexual partners was legalized at the same time. The age of consent was set at 16.

Maine established domestic partnerships for same-sex couples in April 2004.[3]

Following legal developments in Hawaii, as well as several European countries and Canada, Maine enacted a ban on same-sex marriage in 1997.[4] On May 6, 2009, the state enacted a law to allow same-sex marriage.[5][6] Before the law went into effect, however, it was repealed by referendum on November 3, 2009.[7][8]

On January 26, 2012, a petition for a same-sex marriage initiative was delivered to the Secretary of State with over 105,000, more than needed to qualify for the ballot.[9] On November 7, 2012, a majority of Maine voters approved the initiative, known as Question 1, by a margin of 53% to 47%, legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.[10] The law took effect on December 29, 2012.

Maine has provided benefits to same-sex partners of state employees since 2001.[11]

Maine law permits single LGBT individuals and same-sex couples, whether married or unmarried, to petition to adopt.[12]

Lesbian couples have access to in vitro fertilization. State law recognizes the non-genetic, non-gestational mother as a legal parent to a child born via donor insemination, irrespective of the marital status of the parents.[13] In addition, surrogacy arrangements are legal and recognized in the state. Same-sex couples are treated in the same manner as opposite-sex couples in using the gestational or traditional surrogacy process.[14]

Maine law penalizes discrimination in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and education opportunity on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, among other categories.[15][16] The law was amended to add these protections in 2005, passing the House of Representatives 91-58 and the Senate 25-10. It was challenged in a veto referendum, which was defeated by 55% of voters on November 8, 2005; as a result, the law remained on the books.[17]

Legislation to protect LGBT people from unfair discrimination was first proposed in 1977, though did not pass either chamber of the Maine Legislature. A bill passed both the House and Senate in 1993, but was vetoed by Governor John R. McKernan Jr..[18] Another bill passed both chambers in 1999 and was signed into law by Governor Angus King, but was defeated in a referendum on November 7, 2000 by a margin of 4,000 votes.

Maine's hate crime law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity.[19] The law provides penalty enhancements for a crime committed based on the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, amongst other categories.

In June 2019, the Maine Legislature passed a bill (passing the House by a vote of 132-1 and the Senate by a vote of 35-0) to ban the gay and trans panic defence, effective from July 1, 2019.[20][21] The gay panic defense is a legal strategy in which defendants accused of violent offenses claim that unwanted same-sex sexual advances provoked them into reacting by way of self-defense. Occasionally the defendant may see their charges decrease from murder to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Since November 2019, Maine residents no longer require certification from a medical provider in order to change the gender marker on their driver's licenses and state ID cards. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles will issue an updated driver's license upon receipt of a completed "Gender Designation Form". The Maine Department of Health and Human Services requires applicants seeking to change the gender marker on their birth certificate to undergo sex reassignment surgery. They must submit an "Application to Correct a Vital Record" indicating that the sex must be corrected and a "Physician's Affidavit for Legal Change of Sex" confirming the surgical procedure and signed in front of a public notary.[22]

Three sex options are available on driver's licenses and IDs, that being "male", "female" and "X".[23][24][25] The "X" option became available for birth certificates in July 2020. Applicants for an "X" require a declaration of a licensed physician or mental health provider affirming their gender identity. Minors also require parental consent.[26][27][28]

In June 2018, both chambers of the Maine Legislature passed a bill to ban conversion therapy on minors, prior to adjourning sine die.[30][31] Governor Paul LePage vetoed the bill on July 6, 2018. In his veto message, LePage stated that the bill was "[a] threat to an individual's religious liberty" and added that parents "have the right to seek counsel and treatment for their children from professionals who do not oppose the parents' own religious beliefs. We should not prohibit professionals from providing their expertise to those who seek it for their own personal and basic questions such as, "How do I deal with these feelings I am experiencing?"". Conversion therapy has been labelled pseudoscience by all major American medical and psychological associations, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association.[32] On July 9, 2018, the Maine House of Representatives attempted to override the veto, but failed by a vote of 79-61.[33]

On May 8, 2019, the House passed new legislation which would ban conversion therapy on minors, with a vote of 91–46. It later passed the Senate on May 21, 2019, by a vote of 25-9. Governor Janet Mills signed the legislation into law on May 29, 2019.[34][35] The new law became effective 90 days after the conclusion of the legislative session (i.e. September 17, 2019). It prohibits licensed health care providers from practicing conversion therapy on minors within the state.[36][37]

A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 71% of Maine residents supported same-sex marriage, while 25% were opposed and 4% were unsure.[38]

• Same-sex marriage in Maine