In what some are calling a victory for religious freedom and free speech, a Maine licensing board has dismissed all complaints against a high school counselor who came under fire last year for appearing in a TV commercial opposing "gay marriage."
In a 2-1 vote April 9, the Maine Board of Social Worker Licensure dismissed both complaints that had been filed against Donald Mendell Jr., whose social worker's license was in danger of being suspended. After Mendell appeared in an October commercial supporting an initiative known as Question 1 -- which eventually passed, reversing a law that would have legalized "gay marriage" -- a social worker at another school in the same city (Newport) filed a complaint with the board against Mendell, who is a counselor at Nokomis High School.
Mendell taped the ad only after a fellow teacher at his school appeared in a TV ad opposing Question 1. The school's name...