Tempers flare as Maine House approves ban on conversion therapy

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/04/12/tempers-flare-as-maine-house-approves-ban-on-conversion-therapy/

AUGUSTA — A House debate over legislation to ban conversion therapy in Maine devolved Thursday into an emotional and, at times, personal display of the lingering cultural divide at the State House over sexual orientation and religion.

House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, sternly warned several speakers against “impugning the motives” of other lawmakers and even suspended debate for nearly a half hour before the chamber approved the controversial bill on a 76-68 vote.

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Rep. Larry Lockman, an Amherst Republican well known for his hard-right views and controversial comments on social issues, predicted the bill will only “punish licensed professionals who dissent from the prevailing progressive orthodoxy” on sexual orientation and transgendered individuals.

“The bill before us today is part of a much larger campaign to shut down reality-based free speech,” said Lockman. “And not just shut it down, Madam Speaker. The left-wing progressives who are waging war on free speech in America have been so emboldened by their recent successes that they have upped the ante. Now they want to strip dissenters of their ability to make a living.”

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Lockman is a pig.