First of all, Jen Cyr, the teacher in the ad, teaches at a private Christian school called Calvary Chapel Christian School (where she is co-workers with Charla Bansley, whom appeared in a previous Yes on 1 ad which you can watch and read about HERE). This means that even if Question 1 is defeated and same-sex couples can legally marry, their school will not be required to “teach” that same-sex couples can legally marry. That is beside the point though, considering that just yesterday, Maine’s Attorney General, Janet Mills, who was asked to look into the issue, announced that the marriage equality law would in no way change public school curriculum.

 You have asked about the implications of LD 1020, PL 2009, ch. 82, "An Act to  End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom," on the  development of school curricula in our state. My office's analysis of the issue  reveals no impact on the curricula of Maine's public schools.

 I have scoured Maine laws relating to the education of its children for any  references to marriage in the public school curricula. I have found none.

You can read her full statement HERE.

Stand for Marriage Maine, the group behind the Yes on 1 campaign, seems to not be bothered whatsoever by the Attorney General’s announcement. In fact, even though they were the ones who asked her to look into it, they’re now saying, through chairman Mark Mutty, (on their Facebook page of all places) that the announcement is unfair and should be ignored. Here are a few quotes. The full statement can be read HERE.

 "It was a foregone conclusion that the Attorney General, an ardent supporter of  same-sex marriage, has taken the position that there will be no change in public  school curricula if Question 1 fails and LD 1020 takes effect.

 "Ms. Mills has long supported LD 1020, the gay marriage legislation. Nearly a  week before she released her opinion, she told a local television reporter that she  was "appalled" by our ads, which do nothing more than point out the real  consequences to school children and parents if a new legal definition of "any two  will do" marriage replaces the union between a man and a woman.

 "Her legal opinion has not even a shred of pretense of independence or  objectivity.

 "There is no getting around the fact that gay marriage has been taught in  Massachusetts and California.

 "Yes on Question 1 has shown - and our opponents have been forced to  acknowledge - that existing curricula ALREADY create an opportunity for  teaching about same-sex relationships under the guise of "safe schools"  instruction.

 We have demonstrated how it could be taught in schools, and that it HAS been  taught in other states that have legalized gay marriage. It's a shame that Maine's  top lawyer is using her good office for such a transparent political stunt."

Mark Mutty made another statement through Facebook today about the ad itself. Here’s some of what he had to say:

 With just 18 days left before the election, today we launched another powerful,  persuasive television ad that casts an even brighter light on what Maine public  school children and their parents might expect if LD 1020 becomes the law of the  land.

 Our ad actually does not tell the full extent that this teacher instructs 8th graders  on gay sex. The news story shockingly reveals that students learn in detail about  various ways lesbians engage in sex. The full NPR story is available at  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3915906. Once the page  opens,  click on "Listen". However, be warned, the news report contains graphic,  explicit discussion about gay sex. It is so graphic that we couldn’t put it in our ad.  Yet we risk it being taught to our children in school.

 As you know, our opponents have collected millions of dollars from out-of-state  gay marriage supporters who know that Question 1 is more than a Maine issue. It  is part of their plan to move the broader gay marriage agenda forward in every  corner of the nation. Won’t you please help us protect the traditional institution of  marriage by donating today?

You may have noticed that in Mutty’s statement and in the NPR clip, that Deb Allen, the teacher being interviewed, is an 8th grade sex education teacher. Yet, the Yes on 1 ad misleading identifies Ms. Allen as an “8th grade teacher,” leaving out the important fact that she is an 8th grade sex education teacher. It’s not like this issue came up in math class.

They further mislead the viewers when they play this clip - “Already, some gay advocates are working on a gay-friendly curriculum for kindergarten and up.”- followed by the quote from Ms. Allen. No one (except the Yes on 1 campaign) is suggesting that kindergarten students will be taught the mechanics of sex- gay, straight, or otherwise. Yet, the way they’ve put this commercial together, that’s what they want the viewers to fear.

And for your information, when they talk about kindergarten curriculum, they’re talking about definitions to answer questions such as “What does gay mean?” How threatening…

But let’s talk some more about this NPR clip. In Mutty’s statement about the ad, he says:

 Our ad actually does not tell the full extent that this teacher instructs 8th graders  on gay sex. The news story shockingly reveals that students learn in detail about  various ways lesbians engage in sex.
 [B]e warned, the news report contains graphic, explicit discussion about gay sex.  It is so graphic that we couldn’t put it in our ad.

They have, of course, vastly overstated the graphic nature of the NPR clip. Here is what was said, all of which would be appropriate for an 8th grade sex ed class:

 “On this side [of the chart] I’m going to [write] some different activities like  kissing and hugging and different kinds of intercourse.”

 “Allen asks her students to fill in the chart with yeses and nos.”

 “Alright, so, can a woman and a woman kiss and hug? Yes. Can a woman and a  woman have vaginal intercourse? And they’ll all say no. And I’ll say hold it. Of  course they can. They can use a sex toy. And we discuss that. So the answer’s  yes.”

Would they be causing such a stink if she asked her class: “Can a man and a woman have vaginal intercourse?”

Also, according to the NPR report, Deb Allen has “been teaching a gay-friendly curriculum for nearly a decade,” which means that the new (at-the-time) marriage equality law was not the cause of “gay sex being taught in schools.”

And, even if she wasn’t teaching a “gay-friendly curriculum,” what if a lesbian or gay student asked her a question about sex? Would they rather she lie? Or yell at the student? Or shame them for asking an “inappropriate” question?

You know what else they talked about in the NPR clip, before the story about Deb Allen? You know what else SFMM chose to ignore?

 “Seventeen year old high school senior Sam [Z.] says his teachers in the quiet  suburb of Winchester barely even mentioned the words gay and lesbian, whether  in grade school discussions of family or high school discussions of English lit or  even in sex ed. [He] says the subject was never really on the radar screen.”

 “It makes me feel bad because it invalidates the person I am.”

 “[He] says the conspicuous silence made it a lot harder for him to accept himself  as gay and to come out of the closet.”

 “There were times when I got very depressed about it. I couldn’t picture my life  further down the road because I didn’t know what that looked like. I couldn’t even   imagine it. And that’s what changed. That’s what changed on May 17th. This is a  message from the government of Massachusetts saying this is now part of the  social norm.”

 “[He] is one of many hoping that the day gay marriage became legal in  Massachusetts will also mark the beginning of a new openness in schools.”
 

Stand for Marriage Maine and the Yes on 1 campaign have chosen to vilify their neighbors who are gay or lesbian, and the children of parents who are gay or lesbian. They have vilified the great private and public benefits, on personal and social levels, that marriage equality would bring to the people and the state of Maine. They have vilified the suffering and the silence that these individuals and these families go through.

There is no such thing as equality for some. Either all of us are equal or none of us are.

With this ad, SFMM is showing their true colors. (As if we couldn’t see right through them before.) The only thing graphic or explicit here is their homophobia.

 Being gay or lesbian, or bisexual or transgender for that matter, is not bad. It’s normal. It’s healthy. It’s just as fulfilling and satisfying as being straight, and deserves the same respect and legal protections.

Stand for Marriage Maine’s goal is to make enough Mainers feel that gay and lesbian children and parents do not deserve equal civil rights, and, as you can see, they plan to do this by saying that your gay and lesbian family members, neighbors, co-workers, etc. are immoral and unworthy of even basic recognition. They think of themselves as being the moral high ground, but how is that possible when their “morality” consists of condemning certain of their family members, neighbors, co-workers, etc. as second class citizens? No matter what their individual views on gay and lesbian people are, the gay and lesbian people of Maine are still American citizens, and deserve to be treated like everyone else.

If you want to help ensure that Maine’s marriage equality law stays legal, and that Question 1 is defeated, it’s easy. You can sign up for a virtual phone bank, where you can speak to Maine voters from your own home. Training is available (and required). You will be speaking to likely voters, most of which have already been identified as supporters.

~ Samantha