VIDEO: Freedom to Marry launches national TV ad featuring Republican Sen. Simpson
April 08, 2014
Today, just days before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals kicks off a wave of hearings and rulings on the freedom to marry at the appellate level, Freedom to Marry released a national television ad featuring former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming. In the 30-second spot, Simpson, a Republican, makes the conservative case for marriage for same-sex couples and cites his own decades-long marriage to his wife.
In the ad, Sen. Simpson says, "I'm a Republican, and the party's basic core is government out of your life and the right to be left alone. Whether you're gay or lesbian or straight, if you love someone, and you want to marry them - marry them ... Live and let live. It is very simple.
The ad begins airing today, April 8, on national cable, network Sunday political shows in Washington, D.C., and in the TV markets for Colorado, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Watch the ad:
Sen. Simpson's comments are especially moving this week, since on Thursday, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in a federal lawsuit seeking the freedom to marry in Utah. Next Thursday, April 17, an appeal in a similar case seeking the freedom to marry in Oklahoma will be heard. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals encompasses six states - Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming - and the ruling in this case could affect all six states.
Freedom to Marry founder and president Evan Wolfson commented on the video launch today. He said:
We look forward to engaging in the conversation in the Mountain West as momentum for marriage builds. We could not have asked for a better, more iconic, and respected champion to make the conservative case for the freedom to marry. Sen. Simpson represents what many fellow Western Republicans - and a majority of residents in the West - believe in: Individual liberty and a live-and-let-live ethos.
Previously, Sen. Simpson joined 20 other prominent Western Republicans in signing an amicus brief in the Utah case (Kitchen v. Herbert) and Oklahoma case (Bishop v. Smith). The brief explained that "marriage is strengthened" and that "the social stability of the family unit are promoted" when same-sex couples are free to marry.
Learn more about the freedom to marry at the 10th Circuit at 10thCircuit.org.