Maine's No on 1 Campaign Learns from Prop 8's Mistakes

Last April, the Maine Legislature successfully passed a marriage bill that Governor John Balducci signed into law in May.  And now the anti-gays, (you know, like NOM and the "Gathering Storm" ads) have the issue back on the ballot again under the moniker of Question 1, an attempt to re-ban gay marriage for all Mainers.  Sound familiar?

I have a feeling that these Prop. 8 copycat battles are doomed to rage for quite awhile as long as the gay-haters have money on their side.  The No On 8 Campaign in California tried its best, but one of the crucial things we missed was putting a positive image of gays in our advertising.  Do you remember the No On 8 commercials?  They promoted equal rights, had some big political figures like Diane Feinstein, yet were completely devoid of gays (at least the ones I saw on the major networks all the time).  Sadly, all those on YouTube did not reach a very large audience, but the major funding from the Mormon and Catholic Churches ensured that the Yes on 8 ads popped into our living rooms, sports bars, and coffee shops daily.  

Californians were repeatedly blasted with images of a little girl announcing to her parents that she read a book in school about a prince marrying another prince and therefore she wanted to marry a princess. 

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