Monday, November 23, 2009

Counselor in Same-Sex Marriage Dispute Calls for Dismissal of Complaint: Does the Manhattan Declaration Casts A New Light on These Types of Disputes?

11/23/09 Maine Public Broadcasting Network:
A Newport high school guidance counselor is asking the state's Office of Licensing and Registration to throw out a complaint filed against him in connection with a TV ad he appeared in opposing same-sex marriage ... The complaint against Donald Mendell was filed after he appeared in a campaign ad in support of Question 1 on the November ballot. Ann Sullivan, a social worker at Newport Elementary School...contends that Mendell violated a code of ethics established by the National Association of Social Workers that says social workers should not condone any form of discrimination. But Mendell says the complaint is "frivolous," according to the paper. The Palmyra resident says he was exercising his constitutional right to free speech when he appeared in a campaign ad in support of Question 1, the ballot initiative approved by voters in November which repealed the state's gay marriage law.

I would not be surprised if the Alliance Defense Fund comes to Mendell's defense. I welcome from my readers any subsequent news. I no longer regard these legal battles as collateral issues. With the Manhattan Declaration, will controversies like this one, whatever their merits, assume a practical importance out of proportion to their cause.

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