A new 30-second ad released Wednesday
features President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney
making the case for gay marriage.
The $1 million ad campaign is being
paid for by the Respect for Marriage Coalition, which is co-chaired
by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay rights
advocate.
In the ad, which will air on national
cable, former first lady Laura Bush is heard telling CNN's Larry
King, “When couples are committed to each other and love each
other, then they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone
has.”
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell
also makes an appearance.
The video ends with footage of Obama's
inaugural address last month.
“Our journey is not complete until
our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the
law,” Obama said. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
According to the Respect for Marriage
Coalition, it is the first time in history that LGBT rights groups
have funded a national ad buy.
“Against the backdrop of President
Obama's historic comments about marriage rights in his inaugural
address, freedom to marry legislation pending in a number of states,
and two landmark marriage cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the
Coalition is working to grow support for marriage rights for same-sex
couples across the nation,” the group said in a statement.