A new radio spot released Wednesday by
gay marriage foes urges Minnesotans to elect Republican Tom Emmer
their next governor.
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.)
The 30-second ad invokes the legacy of
slain civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In the ad, we hear King say “Give us
the ballot” as a female announcer calls the right to vote our most
important civil right.
“Yet some politicians in Minnesota
want to impose gay marriage without a vote of the people,” she
adds.
“We want the voters of Minnesota to
know the facts about their rights and where the candidates stand on
marriage,” Brian Brown, president of NOM, said in a statement.
“Just as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for the civil rights of
Americans, we echo his words to give people the ballot and let the
people vote!”
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. In September, it
released an Emmer television ad that also used King's civil rights
legacy.