I saw these videos last night and this first one just touched my heart.

It’s cute, strong and while not of a Maine family, has a strong message that works quite well here:

A powerful and well-produced commercial can make even hardwired Republicans more sympathetic to the cause of marriage equality, according to a new study.

Released by the group Truth and Hope, a liberal grassroots group, the study looked at the effects of targeted marriage equality advertisements on a group of voters.

While Democrats and independents described “happiness” and “inspiration” as the emotions they most experienced after seeing the ad, Republicans described “disturbed” and “happiness” as the two most prominent emotions they felt after seeing the ad. While Republicans are clearly not yet comfortable with same-sex marriage, emotions like “anger” and “embarrassment” ranked lower than positive feelings like “inspiration.”

Another good sign, according to Truth and Hope, is that 58% of Republicans described the ad as “extremely” or “somewhat” effective.

“The fact that one in five Republicans expressed happiness, and that the effectiveness rating [was] over 50% with all three parties shows that we are on target with our message,” said Eugene Hedlund, founder and chair of TruthandHope.org. “Now it becomes our task to take this message to the airwaves, beginning in Maine where Frank Schubert is trying to take equality away from its citizens, just as he did in California in 2008.”

So as I am prone to do, I looked to see on the YouTube link what other videos were related and saw this one, which DOES feature families from here in Maine (Lewiston)- and my blood started to boil.

These are real families, not paid actors or Boston College professors as Frank Schubert and Marc Mutty use in their SFMM/ Yes On 1 ads- and these Mainers deserve the same protections and rights legally that Charlie, Mary, Jean and I take for granted every damned day.

My home state has been thrust into the spotlight this year and we’ll be fine for it, even with all of the various voices gabbing at the same time all over our native voices- we’re Mainers, well used to folks coming here, and know eventually even the longest “tourist season” comes to an end….

We also know how to treat each other with respect and how to take care of families here. We especially know how to take care of our children.

WE-WILL-BE-EQUAL. And all children will grow up here in Maine, knowing their families are valued equally to all others.