A social worker in Maine paid a price for supporting traditional marriage in the past.
Social worker Don Mendell had an excellent record in 2009, before he took a stand in support of traditional marriage, recording an ad aired on the state television outlets. The ad encouraged Maine voters to roll back a law passed by the legislature that legalized homosexual marriage. In an interview with the National Organization for Marriage, Mendell says that at that time there was also an English teacher, who was a homosexual activist, and did an opposing ad.
"She did an ad for the gay marriage campaign to defeat the referendum," Mendell says. "She did the ad in our high school."
Proponents of traditional marriage recruited Mendell, a highly respected social worker, to do their ad in a private studio for the sake of children to be raised in a home with a mother and father.
"I had complaints lodged against me, and the Maine State Board of Licensure held a hearing to basically see if I was competent, or as people might say, 'fit to be a practitioner of social work,'" he recalls.
"That was quite an awakening to be brought before the school board there and have to defend myself."
In time, Mendell's 36-year career at the school ended and he was transferred to other jobs. No action was taken against the teacher for doing the pro-homosexual ad.
Again this November, Maine voters are to go to the polls to defend traditional marriage. Whether supporters show up at the polls and take a stand remains to be seen.