Watch: TV ad pushing gay rights for Christians in Southern states
The Human Rights Campaign has launched a TV ad expressly targeting Christians in Southern states.
The gay rights charity’s new commercial, ‘All God’s Children’, will target the deep south states that lag behind the rest of the US in acceptance of gay people.
The first ad in the will air on Monday in Mississippi – which affords little rights to gay couples – with others planned in Alabama and Arkansas.
The TV ad marks a shift in tactics for the rights group, directly addressing Christians and invoking God, instead of focussing on the secular arguments for gay rights.
It features 61-year-old “Bible-believing born-again Christian” Mary Jane Kennedy, who tells the story of one of her sons coming out as gay.
Another ad, which features 25-year-old Iraq war veteran Justin Kelly, is also planned to air in the state.
He said: “The values that are already in place in Mississippi are what we’re looking for: To be friendly, to be open, to have conversations.”
HRC said: “We are All God’s Children is a first-of-its-kind public education and engagement campaign in the history of the South that aims to strengthen the foundation of public support for LGBT Mississippians, aid in the passage of pro-equality legislation, and bolster efforts to win marriage equality for Mississippi’s gay and lesbian couples.
“It would be nearly impossible to successfully engage a large majority of Mississippians about LGBT equality without discussing it in the context of faith.
“For this reason, faith is a critical part of the messaging and outreach of All God’s Children.”
