If it's not broke, don't fix it. We
guess that's the thinking behind the new anti-gay marriage ad being
aired in Maine.
The new ad takes a page right out of
the Proposition 8 scarebook: Gay marriage is about teaching children
about being gay.
The strategy worked in California,
where voters approved a similar measure that banned gay marriage last
November.
In this reworked version, Charla
Bansley, a teacher from Ellsworth, says Question 1 has “everything
to do with schools.”
Robb and Robin Wirthlin, a
Massachusetts couple who also appeared in a California ad against gay
marriage, say: “After Massachusetts legalized gay marriage, our
son came home and told us that the school taught him that boys can
marry other boys.”
In a tight close up, Mrs. Wirthlin
adds, “He's in the second grade.”
“It's already happened in
Massachusetts,” Bansley says, then adds, “Vote yes on Question 1
to prevent homosexual marriage from being taught in Maine schools.”
Not revealed in the 30-second spot is
the fact that Bansley is no ordinary school teacher. She also runs
Concerned Women for America Maine, a state affiliate of Concerned
Women for America (CWA), a group opposed to gay rights. CWA is the
leading defender of “don't ask, don't tell,” the law that forbids
gay and lesbian military service members from serving openly.
It's the second effort by the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM) in the state. Over the weekend, its
president, Maggie Gallagher, criticized ads aired by proponents of
gay marriage as too “soft,” “nice” and “pleasant.”
“If I was them, I wouldn't be
spending money there,” Gallagher told The Washington
Independent.
NOM and its partner – the Catholic
Diocese of Portland – formed Stand for Marriage Maine to put the
gay marriage issue up for a vote in the state.
The group's best known ad is the widely
parodied gay marriage ad that was released in the spring titled
Gathering Storm.