The new Yes on 1 ad, released yesterday:

The main point of this commercial is that domestic partnerships are good enough for “the gays.” Yet, as the ad itself points out,

 “Under the law, registered domestic partners are accorded a legal status similar to  that of a married person…”

I highlighted “similar” to make the point that domestic partnership is not the same as marriage. Not even close. They go on to say,

“Any problems remaining can be addressed without dismantling traditional marriage.”

Notice that they admit to “remaining problems.” You know why there are “remaining problems?” Because separate is not equal!! If gays and lesbians could marry, this wouldn’t be an issue.

Also, with this next quote, they again miss the point.

 “It’s possible to support the civil rights of all citizens and protect traditional  marriage at the same time.”

Marriages between “one man and one woman” will not at all be effected by marriages between same-sex couples. So really, voting No on 1 protects not just traditional marriage, but marriage for same-sex couples as well. A No vote is a win-win. :-)

We must recognize that “separate but equal” is never equal. It is never acceptable. It is never reasonable. It is never fair. It is never the right choice. Mainers need to speak to their friends about this and encourage them to vote NO; separate is NOT equal.

But as bad as it is to promote a system that claims to be separate by equal (all the while admitting that marriage and domestic partnerships are NOT the same) of course, the problems with this ad do not end there.

You may be wondering about the families shown in the ad. And if you’re not, you should be.

First, we have, courtesy of Thought Equity Motion…
(Credit to Jeremy at GoodAsYou..org for discovering this)

“A father gives his daughter a piggy-back ride while his wife kisses their daughter lovingly on the cheeks”

And “Panning-shot of grandparents posing with their grandchildren"

And "Panning-shot of a family walking together on a summer day"

And "A happy family poses for a portrait"

And, of course, "A family poses in front of their home as their young children act silly"

Yes. Every single family shown in this ad is, in fact, not from Maine. Yet, as you’ll recall, every family featured in the No on 1 ads really is from Maine. They are the real people that will be voting on Tuesday. That’s right- November 3rd is less than 1 week away.

I’m looking forward to Tuesday night. I believe that we can win and that Question 1 will be defeated. I believe that Maine has a good chance of being the very first state to vote in favor of marriage equality. I’ve really enjoyed covering the campaign, but I’m looking forward to moving on to the night fight, wherever it may be.