Maine's attorney general has called claims that a gay marriage law would force schools to teach about being gay baseless.

Attorney General Janet Mills released a statement Thursday dismissing the claims of proponents of Question 1. If adopted on November 3, the referendum would repeal the state's gay marriage law approved by lawmakers in the spring.

The group Stand for Marriage Maine organized to put the gay marriage law up for a vote.

In television ads, literature and its website the group claims that the law is about teaching children about being gay. It is the same successful strategy used in California, where voters approved a gay marriage ban last year.

In one of the group's television ads, a woman seated next to her husband says, “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, the woman adds: “He's in the second grade.”

The ad's tagline says: “Vote yes on Question 1 to prevent homosexual marriage from being taught in Maine schools.”

In her statement, Mills plainly disagrees with the group's claims.

“Whatever the benefits and burdens of the civil institution of marriage, the state's definition of marriage has no bearing on the curricula in our public schools, either under current law or under LD 1020 [the gay marriage law],” Mills wrote in her response to Education Commissioner Susan Gendron, who had requested the legal analysis.

Mills goes on to soothe concerned parents by reminding them that Maine law would accommodate for persons with religious beliefs.

“[P]arents with religious beliefs which prohibit dancing might seek accommodation for their child regarding physical education classes that involved dancing,” she says.

Officials for Stand for Marriage Maine have not commented on Mills' statement. However, the campaign has previously raised concerns about the attorney general's objectivity because of her support for gay marriage.