Laura Bush, the former first lady, is in the media after a new ad supporting same sex marriage aired featuring her. She asked the company to remove a clip of her talking about support for equal marriage rights.
The ad was for the Respect for Marriage Coalition and it shows Bush speaking in a CNN interview that occurred in 2010 with Larry King. She said in the ad, "When couples are committed to each other and love each other then they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has."
The official launch of the advertising campaign is part of both the Respect for Marriage Coalition which is a group of more than 80 organizations and co-chaired by Human Rights Campaign and Freedom to Marry.
A spokesperson for Mrs. Bush said that she didn't approve of her inclusion. "Mrs. Bush did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated in any way with the group that made the ad," a spokesperson for Laura Bush, Anna MacDonald said in a statement to CNN. When she became aware of the advertisement Tuesday night, we requested that the group remove her from it."
CNN reported that the group said they would spend $1 million to air the advertisement nationally and run print ads using quotes from the advertisement. The ad also features Colin Powell who showed his support for same sex unions during an CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer in May. "Allowing them to live together with the protection of law, it seems to me is the way we should be moving in this country," Powell said.
Dick Cheney is the last Republican and former Vice President is also featured in the advertisement saying "Freedom means freedom for everyone." His daughter Mary got married to her long-time partner Heather Poe.
President Obama is also featured in the advertisement. A spot from his inauguration is shown where he says, "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law."
Respect for Marriage Coalition issued a statement to Politico.
"We used public comments for this ad from American leaders who have expressed support for civil marriage," the group said to Politico. "We appreciate Mrs. Bush's previous comments but are sorry she didn't want to be included in an ad. The ad launched a public education campaign that will now move to new and different voices that reflect the depth and breadth of our support."
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