Opponents seeking to overturn Maine's gay marriage law have raised concerns in their campaign advertising that, if allowed to stand, the law will lead to changes in school curricula. The campaign messages center around a 29-page book for first graders that stirred controversy in California.

In the latest campaign spot by Stand for Marriage Maine, a school counselor at Nokomis High School in Newport suggests that if Maine's same-sex marriage law isn't overturned, young children in Maine could soon be introduced to a book called "Who's In a Family."


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The ad uses an excerpt from a telephone interview with the Book's author, Robert Skutch of California, that was conducted by a Boston-based public radio program called Here and Now in 2005. In that same interview, Skutch goes on to say that he can understand why people might be afraid of the reality of same-sex couples, but he says his book is about all different kinds of families: those headed by single parents, grandparents, immigrants and two men or two women.

"The book was written basically because my niece and her partner decided they wanted to have a family," Skutch said. "I was involved with seeing them when they were very little, this little boy, and it occurred to me, you know it's a shame that he's going to go to school and that he's going to be made fun of because he's got two mothers. And I thought that isn't right and that's what inspired the book. And that's only one little part of the book."

Skutch told "Here and Now" that he thinks children learn to be fearful of other people from their parents, but can be taught about tolerance and respect for diversity at a young age. Steve Wessler of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence in Portland calls the Stand for Marriage ad a "distortion" of the book's message.

"It's important for everybody to promote respect," Wessler says. "We've got too much disrespect in society and the kind of misrepresentation that's in this ad scares families, pits family against family, I think also puts children in the position of feeling embarassed about families that are different in some way. That's not the type of conduct that represents the values of our state."

Marc Mutty of Stand for Marriage Maine says those who oppose same sex marriage are not against creating safer schools and communities.

"They certainly support safe communities, safe environments for children, etcetera, all of these things that we talk about. And they certainly are sympathetic to some of the issues that are brought up by the gay community and want those addressed," Mutty says. But when it comes down ultimately to the redefinition of marriage, that's where they put the marker, the marker comes down."

But opponents of Question 1 say the latest ad from Mutty's camp also attempts to malign former teacher of the year Sherri Gould, who works at the same high school as the counselor in the ad who calls her a "gay activist."

"Sherri Gould is a straight mother of three grown children who also believes in marriage equality," says Jesse Connolly, is the campaign manager for No On One. "To slur her efforts to ensure that all students at her high school feel safe and secure and can thrive is really dispicable."

Connolly says Gould serves as an advisor to a student organization known as the "Gay-Straight Alliance," which promotes respect and tolerance for gay, lesbian, transgendered and straight students at Nokomis. It is one of 53 similar organizations in high schools throughout Maine. Stand For Marriage Maine's Marc Mutty says the gay activist label is appropriate for Gould and so is the ad's characterization of the book.

Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron says she doesn't believe Maine's same-sex marriage law would lead to any change in school curricula, but she has asked the Maine Attorney General's Office for clarification.