Anti-gay marriage groups released a new
ad Wednesday in support of Republican Tom Emmer's bid to become the
next governor of Minnesota.
The ad, backed by the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous
opponent of gay marriage, and the Minnesota Family Council, touts
Emmer's opposition to gay marriage. (The video is embedded in the
right panel of this page.)
“[Democrat] Mark Dayton and
[independent] Tom Horner want gay marriage with no vote of the
people,” a female announcer says in the 30-second spot.
“Tom Emmer believes marriage is
between one man and one woman. And Emmer says let the people vote.”
“Gay marriage has consequences,
demand your right to vote,” the announcer adds.
The spot is the latest attempt by gay
marriage opponents to flip the script on supporters, who have long
called marriage a civil right. Voting on marriage, the groups say in
the new ad, is a civil right.
“The right to vote, our most
important civil right,” the ad begins as it pans over an image of
slain civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“We've just released what may very
well be our most powerful ad yet,” Brian Brown, president of NOM,
said in an email, “focusing on the right of Minnesotans to vote for
marriage, with footage from Dr. Martin Luther King's famous speech
and the civil rights movement.”
Analysts were quick to call the ad
misleading.
“The ad slyly suggests that those
promoting marriage rights for LGBT people are somehow in opposition
to King's values,” the Minnesota Independent wrote.
“They're not.”
Gay rights have become a major issue in
deciding who'll follow Republican Tim Pawlenty, an opponent of gay
marriage, as governor of the state.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest gay rights advocate, contributed
$150,000 to pro-gay candidates in Minnesota, including Dayton, after
retail giant Target gave an equal amount of money to MN Forward,
an independent political fund supporting Emmer.
NOM is also investing heavily in the
state. It
started running ads in the spring against Democrats who support gay
marriage.