Oct 16, 2009   | COMMENTS     

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills has been asked to look into what effect the state’s gay marriage law would have on public school teaching, prompting questions Thursday about whether Mills can render an impartial opinion given her past support of the law.

Maine’s law recognizing same-sex marriages, enacted by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci in May, has been stayed pending the result of a Nov. 3 repeal referendum.

As the campaign on Question 1 has unfolded, repeal supporters have hammered hard at the prospect of having children taught about gay marriage in schools. Opponents of the repeal reject the idea that Maine’s gay marriage law will open the door to teaching same-sex marriage in public schools.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron, who asked Mills for the analysis, has said Maine’s law will have no impact on curriculum decisions because marriage is not part of the state-approved curriculum.

But in her request for an analysis, Gendron also says questions about the impact of gay marriage on school teachings have persisted and are now being directed to school superintendents. Now, the Department of Education is seeking clarification on the issue.