The Lincoln County News, who endorsed Yes on 1, covered the latest efforts by CCL.  Through a Freedom of Information Act, CCL requested all documents referencing conversations or meetings that Maine State Senate President Libby Mitchell had with groups who worked on the issue of marriage equality (EqualityMaine, the Maine Civil Liberties Union [MCLU] and the Human Rights Council).  One of these documents mentioned a meeting taking place tomorrow with EqualityMaine and MCLU.

In response to this meeting, CCL has tried to imply that Mitchell and representatives from these groups are up to some secret, backroom dealings.  I’m sure that any scan of conservative politicians from Maine would show a meeting at some point with CCL.  That’s what advocacy organizations do–meet and talk with policymakers.

The false indignation that CCL has summoned clearly has two intended purposes.  The first is to rally their base (and donors) against the “relentless push to undermine traditional values” (or some ridiculous talking point to that effect).

Sadly, the second target is clearly Senator Mitchell.  Sen. Mitchell is running for governor and polling shows her to be a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.  This is clearly an attempt to rally the conservative voting base against a her in the chance she receives the party’s nomination.  They will undoubtedly try to use her support of equality against her.

At this point, I don’t know enough about the candidates to say that I support one over another, but we have to be prepared for this and be ready to defend those who stood up for marriage equality (another leading candidate, Steve Rowe, is very good on civil rights issues).  As a refresher, here is Sen. Mitchell’s speech from the day the State Senate voted on LD 1020.

h/t Debbie

Imagine putting up a right and an actual set of protections for your family to the vote of your neighbors.  It’s absurd that it happens, and I’d lie if I said I am anything other than crushed that it was done to me and we lost.

I don’t doubt that we’ll win our equal rights in my lifetime, but today I’m at a loss for words to express my condolences to families who will actually suffer at this lack of fundamental equality.

The woman who misses seeing her wife on her deathbed because she doesn’t have the right paperwork or the hospital worker simply doesn’t recognize the strange legal maneuvering that was meant to protect both halves of this couple.

The child who isn’t protected when their biological parent dies and the other parent they’ve known their whole life struggles to claim this child as their own.  But this isn’t about just situations involving death.  It’s about the lives we lead and the way we feel about ourselves and the way that a child of a gay couple feels about his or her family.

More than that, I’m sad that bigots and those who judge me without knowing me feel their bizarre, self-righteous and often hypocritical, beliefs have been validated and approved by their neighbors. For the teenagers who took this vote to mean there is something wrong with their gay classmates. That it’s alright to insult and push around. For the teens who continue to live in fear because they just heard that the majority of Mainers don’t think they deserve the same rights as their brothers and sisters and friends.

We’ll win this. If nothing else, I’m personally more committed to that now. You better believe this issue hasn’t been put to bed, because until gay couples are allowed to commit to each other equally, we’ll commit with even more energy to ensuring our equal rights. I’m ready to do what it takes, and I know that the hundreds of thousands of voters who agree will step up again to help. Equality knows no election year and loss number 31 won’t beat the fight out of us.

Call (trainings are starting next week).

Watch:

The full video of the debate is available at UniteTheFight.org.

A slide show is at the Portland Press Herald website.

Now, several have already dissected this ad (including a great analysis at Good As You).  What is interesting is that their polling must really show a failing of their disingenuous ads for them to have switch tactics so suddenly.

Their premise:  We aren’t bigots, we just want to give gays all the same rights with a different label (because their relationship couldn’t be equal to ours?).  Getting beyond the whole issue of separate but equal being unconstitutional, it’s important to point out that under Maine law, this separate creation of a “domestic partnership” is absolutely not equal to a marriage (both in rights and in spirit).  Don’t believe me?  Look at the state of Maine’s own laws, websites and exclamation mark laden warnings.  Gerald at Dirigo Blue captures the image from Maine’s website

State of Maine Disclaimer: Marriage is not equal to domestic partnerships (click to download State of Maine document)

Sorry if I’m getting a bit smarmy in my tone, but it’s getting close to that day and the dishonesty that very well may impact voters is beyond frustrating and frightening.

Donate or call (trainings are starting next week).

Supporters of the ballot initiative argue that same-sex marriage erodes heterosexual marriage, but experience has proven them wrong: Since Massachusetts legalized gay marriage five years ago, the state has seen its divorce rate, already the lowest in the nation, decline further. But that hasn’t stopped supporters of the initiative from making other wild claims. No, gay marriage is not being taught, alongside spelling and long division, as part of the public-school curriculum in Massachusetts. No, an equal right to civil marriage has not rendered Massachusetts genderless.

But here is where No on 1 is challenged.  They have done a great job of saying this isn’t the case for reasons XYZ.  Unfortunately, No on 1 can’t go deep in addressing these tactics because it allows SFMM to control the debate and distracts from the real issue.  So, I wrote a letter that I’m sure will never be read by Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown, Marc Mutty, or Bishop Malone.

Dear Ms. Gallagher, Mr. Brown, Mr. Mutty and Bishop Malone,

Throughout the last few months, you have either financially supported, or actually spoken, claims that LD 1020 will impact what kids are taught in school.  In fact, you often invoke kindergartners.  Since this campaign isn’t about education policy, your opponents have–very rightfully–only responded by refuting the facts of the case.

So, without in any way admitting that LD 1020 has anything to do with education, I’d like to go down that road for a moment.

If this bill did in fact require that same sex marriages be discussed in classrooms (even kindergartners!), what is the fallout that you so oppose?

You invoke this vague threat without saying why it is bad.  Since you’re not being upfront, I will be.

I think you’re trying to instill a fear that this will somehow make kids gay.  You make claims like this (second 13):

But step back and be honest for a second.  Do you, as apparently very heterosexual adults, think that someone could have taught you to be attracted to someone of the same sex?  Do you think that lifestyle would have felt right?

Schools are about teaching reality, and the reality is that same sex couples exist.  The question now is whether or not we are also able to teach that the state values all loving adult couples equally.

Teaching that same sex marriage is equal to heterosexual marriage only increases understanding and acceptance of others (which I think 90% of people agree is a positive thing).  Even if you believe that homosexuality is a sin, doesn’t it help you love the “sinner” and see them as a person and not an affliction?

You complain that people call you bigots and haters for opposing marriage equality.  I won’t speculate on that, but I can certainly say that this fear mongering is based in ignorance–your own and the ignorance you’d attribute to voters.

And again, the original clip.