Parents read from a sexually explicit LGBT-themed book found in Maine’s schools in a new ad from Maine Families First PAC airing online and on TV stations in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. The ad began airing last night.
“I’m actually horrified that this is in our schools,” says one parent.
“It’s not the schools’ job to introduce pornography to our children,” says another.
In the finally days of the gubernatorial contest between former Gov. Paul LePage and Gov. Janet Mills, the ad draws a direct line between the graphic books popping up in Maine schools in recent years and Mills, a far left Democrat who has embraced radical gender ideology throughout the state government and school system.
Claremont Institute Chairman Thomas Klingenstein is backing Maine Families First PAC and recently penned an op-ed advocating for a firm ban on pornographic material in Maine schools.
“Governor Mills says that local school boards should decide for themselves whether their schools carry books like Gender Queer,” wrote Klingenstein. “She claims she is neutral. This is not true.”
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The ad is the second to hit Mills on the topic of sexually explicit material in Maine classrooms. The first ad, which showed images from a book called “Gender Queer,” was rejected by several Maine TV stations as too pornographic to air. Even after the PAC added additional blurring and censorship to the graphic sexual images, some TV stations balked.
In the most recent gubernatorial debate, Mills insisted that she does not mandate books for schools, but she dodged a direct question about the role her Administration played in recommending the book for Maine schools.
However, Maine’s Department of Education has partnered with the left-wing non-profit Out Maine, a LGBT advocacy group that has defended the inclusion of Gender Queer and other explicit books in schools.
“You will hear people speak against this book, posters, and inclusive policies, often with no facts but using whatever language they can to scare people,” Out Maine wrote in a press release regarding Gender Queer. “OUT Maine asks you to consider how many of them have taken the opportunity to read the book.”
Under Mills, the taxpayer money flowing to Out Maine, as well as its partnership with the Dept. of Education, has grown considerably. The group is listed as a resource for students, parents, and teachers on several State websites.
In 2016, the group reported $36,717 in government grants. In 2018, that number grew to $62,726. In 2019, the group reported $112,690 in taxpayer funding.
Out Maine received more than $215,000 in government funding in 2020, according to tax filings.
Out Maine describes its work as offering specialized programs to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth. As part of that work, it seeks to establish “Gay-Straight-Trans Alliance” clubs in Maine schools.
Out Maine’s website also offers free chest binders, a type of compression garment designed to conceal an individual’s breasts.
According to Out Maine’s website, they will give those chest binders to 14-year-olds for free, but 13 and younger requires a parent or a guardian.