As promised, a link to Good As You’s Jeremy Hooper’s email exchange with Rev. Bob Emrich. A priceless read!

Please click whenever you see the green and white No On 1″ emblem shown here and give what you can- every little bit is needed and every little bit helps!  🙂

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A beautiful bit of parsing out and exposing the lies of both Portland Diocese loaner Stand For Marriage Maine’s Marc Mutty and Rev. Bob Emrich in this morning’s ‘Portland Press Herald’.

In his other life, as director of public affairs for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Marc Mutty has spent years navigating the complex legislative currents that run through the State House. It’s the kind of job that requires a keen understanding of what a given law says – and what it doesn’t.

But these days, Mutty is chairman of Stand for Marriage Maine, the group that is working to repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law. And if his latest fundraising pitch is any indication, Mutty’s new gig has a lot more to do with fear than facts.

Indeed it does… so let’s see how Nemitz tackles this.

You read that correctly. According to the leader of Stand for Maine Marriage, a man who undoubtedly knows better, the law passed by the Legislature in May makes “gay sex education” mandatory in classrooms statewide.

In case you didn’t get it the first time, Mutty goes on to warn, again in bold-face, that “if marriage is redefined to be genderless, then same-sex marriage must be taught as being the same as traditional marriage.”

And finally, the money pitch: “We need your immediate contribution of $100, $50 or even $25 to keep homosexual education out of Maine’s classrooms.”

All of which raises an intriguing question: Who really wrote this – and what have they done with the old Marc Mutty? Mutty was out sick Thursday and thus unavailable to explain what’s causing him to see things in Maine’s same-sex marriage law that, from any reality-based angle, simply aren’t there.

Sick… yeah. Moving right along…

But the Rev. Bob Emrich of the Emmanuel Bible Baptist Church in Plymouth, a member of Stand for Marriage Maine’s executive committee, said the group stands by Mutty’s claim that the same-sex marriage statute will require “explicit homosexual instruction in the classroom.”

One problem. Emrich and Mutty are wrong. Nowhere in the law do the words “school” or “classroom” even appear.

And if you’re looking for phrases like “explicit homosexual instruction” hidden in some obscure statutory subsection, trust me – it’s not there. Not even in code.

So, Pastor Bob, what gives?

Well, according to Ole Bob, Maine has a state mandated “comprehensive family life curriculum” and that the teachers would have no choice but to include discussion of same sex marriage in their classrooms.

A bald-faced lie and Nemitz says so:

For starters, Maine doesn’t “mandate” a “comprehensive family life curriculum” for its schools.

Rather, Maine Revised Statutes Title 22 requires the commissioner of education to work with local family planning programs to develop “comprehensive family life education services” that any school district can choose (or choose not) to incorporate into its curriculum.

The statute also says that if any family-life education takes place in a school, “a parent may choose to not have (his or her) child participate” in the program.

As for “marriage” – heterosexual or homosexual – the word never appears in the statute. Not once.

Ditto for Maine’s Learning Results, the broad standards upon which school districts build their curricula.

The simple truth is that school curriculum decisions in Maine are made not by the state, but by local school boards. And those school boards, being elected and all, answer directly to parents.

As someone who has been to a few of those school board meetings, I can attest that this is true in Maine.

THIS? This is the level of honesty that Frank Schubert promised? Really?

Here’s the thing- the opposition knows that honesty with the Maine voters and a real discussion based on facts will result a loss for them, as it should.

That’s why the majority of those polled are showing overwhelming support for the marriage equality law here in Maine.

Which brings us back to the truth – or disturbing lack thereof – in Mutty’s misguided fundraising appeal.

In a statement issued via e-mail Thursday, Jesse Connolly, campaign manager of No on 1/Protect Maine Equality, predicted that Maine voters will “see through these cynical campaign tactics” by Mutty & Co. as the debate heats up in the coming weeks.

“This is an attempt to divert attention and raise unfounded issues,” said Connolly. “Question 1 has nothing to do with schools and no one is voting on curriculum in November.”

Connolly is right – and anyone who’s taken the time to carefully read Maine’s same-sex marriage law knows it.

Including, of all people, Marc Mutty.

Below the fold, another story of public dishonesty for the sake of raising money against marriage equality… Let me relate another tale regarding dishonest donation tactics…

Today I decided to swing by the Augusta Civic Center, where FRC’s Tony Perkins will be speaking on Sunday– an event that specifically will NOT be covered by the media and is not at all open to the public- to attend, one must register first and prove that they are indeed against Maine’s equal marriage law, as Jeremy Hooper found out in a remarkable email exchange with Rev Bob Emrich this week.

When he blogs about it, I will share the link here as it is a fascinating read…

Anyways- I saw that nowhere is the event advertised at the Civic Center, not even at the big neon message sign at the front entrance. Not a big surprise, I guess…

But what WAS a surprise was the appearance of a gentleman at the front doors of the Augusta Wal-Mart that is within sight of the Civic Center. He was asking everyone going in or coming out for money, shaking a can labelled “DONATIONS FOR DISABLED VETERANS”.

He was collecting on behalf of the Knights of Columbus, who earlier gave an astounding $50,000 to Mutty’s S4MM!

• National Organization for Marriage donated $160,000 in cash contributions and $9,066.43 in in-kind contributions;

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland donated $100,000 in cash contributions and $10,339.73 in in-kind contributions;

• Focus on the Family’s Maine Marriage Committee donated $31,000 in cash contributions and $2,594.62 in in-kind contributions;

• Knights of Columbus donated $50,000 in cash contributions;

• and Maine Family Policy Council donated $625 in cash contributions.

Yet I have never seen a can labelled “DONATIONS TO PREVENT SAME SEX MARRIAGE”… have you?

Nice little “bait and switch”, huh?