New TV ad campaign in Utah spotlights Mormon grandparents who support marriage
April 08, 2014
Today, Utah Unites for Marriage launched a new ad campaign running state-wide in favor of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. The campaign features two new 30-second commercials and comes just a few days before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit seeking the freedom to marry in Utah. That lawsuit, Kitchen v. Herbert, received a lower court ruling in December 2013, which was followed by nearly 3 weeks of same-sex couples legally marrying in the state.
One of the TV ads shares the story of William and Marge Bradshaw, who have five children - including a gay son - and 18 grandchildren and fell in love while serving on a Mormon mission trip. In the commercial, William says, "A marriage is bond between two people based in love and commitment. Allowing civil marriages will be a good thing for Utah."
A second commercial features popular Utah media personality Terry Wood, who explains that he never really considered why marriage matters until his son came out as gay and was denied the freedom to marry the person he loved. Terry is a co-chair of Utah Unites for Marriage. Watch:
Brandie Balken, executive director of Equality Utah - one of Freedom to Marry's coalition partners for Utah Unites for Marriage - explained the purpose of the commercials this week. She said: "The point of these ads is to inform the conversation of who we are and who our families are. We're taking the conversation into people's living rooms."