CARNAL NATION

Today is Election Day, which doesn't mean much for most of the country since this is an off year.  But Maine voters are heading to the polls right now to vote on thirteen different referenda, the biggest of which determines whether or not the state should allow gay marriage.  A gay marriage bill passed through state legislature and was signed into law by the governor back in May, but anti-gay crusaders succeeded at getting the issue put to the public as a ballot measure.

One of the major battlegrounds in the state has been the tiny town of Newport, which is located in the center of the state.  Last week, an elementary school social worker named Ann Sullivan filed a complaint with the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation against a high school guidance counselor named Don Mendell, who appeared in a Yes On 1 (anti-gay marriage) commercial.  Citing a national ethics code for social workers, Sullivan says Mendell's appearance in the commercial could incite discrimination.

Scott Fish, spokesman for Yes On 1, has spun the story to make it sound like Sullivan is pushing a nefarious homosexual agenda.  "If [your] opinion is, marriage should be between one man and one woman," he told the Morning Sentinel, "then, according to the complaint, you shouldn't be a counselor. That's a chilling thing and also sends a real warning to anybody in Maine."

Sherri Gould, a literacy coach in the same school district, had previously appeared in No On 1 (pro-gay marriage) commercial.  Her scenes were filmed in a classroom with official permission from the school.

A new radio commercial featuring Mendell appeared yesterday.  In it, he calls Mendell a gay activist and says that repealing the state's marriage law will"prevent homosexual marriage from being pushed on Maine students."  In a later interview, he told a reporter that "children should have equal opportunities to be raised by a mother and father, if possible."  Both the No On 1 people and the school district have distanced themselves from Sullivan's complaint.

Gay marriage has never passed when put to a public vote, but polls show gay marriage proponents are neck-and-neck with the hungry anti-gay folks.