Pro-Republican ad depicts little girl getting raped because of transgender equality
A horrific ad in support of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory depicts the rape of a little girl, in an attack on his Democratic opponent.
North Carolina has lost a string of big investment ventures over Republican Governor Pat McCroryās decision to sign the contentious HB 2 ā which voided all local ordinances protecting LGBT rights, banned transgender people from using their preferred bathroom, and permits businesses to discriminate against LGBT people on the grounds of religious belief.
The state has been plunged into crisis over the law, and McCrory is struggling to stay afloat in an election battle with Democrat Roy Cooper, a strong ally of LGBT rights who has pledged to repeal HB 2.
However, McCrory has been buoyed by outside money from extreme anti-LGBT groups, with the National Organisation for Marriage investing heavily in an ad campaign in the state.
The groupās ad depicts the rape of a small girl, blaming it on āRoy Cooperās bathroom planā.
It claims: āAny man at any time could enter a womanās bathroom simply by claiming to be a woman that day. No-one is exempt.
āEven registered sex offenders could follow women into the bathroom or locker room, and no-one could prevent them.ā
The ad is not backed by McCroryās campaign or the Republicans.
In a message to supporters, NOM bragged: āWith only a few days left before one of the most critical elections of our lifetime, our hard-hitting ads are making a difference in North Carolina.
āExtremist LGBT activists want to make an example of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory because of his support of the common-sense idea that men should not be in womenās bathrooms. But we are stopping them.
āJust a week ago McCrory was down six-points to Democrat Roy Cooperā¦.But since our ads have been running he is dead-even.ā
The footage in the ad appears to have been re-purposed from a near-identical campaign in Texas last year ā which succeeded in persuading voters to vote down an Equal Rights Ordinance providing basic protections for LGBT workers.
The Houston ad claimed to have been produced by a grassroots āCampaign for Houstonā which did not declare a link to NOM.
The re-emergence of the footage in a NOM-attributed advert puts a fresh question mark on its real source.
The declaration in the North Carolina ad states āit was Paid for by North Carolina Values Coalition and the National Organisation for Marriageā, while the Houston ad declaration states āPol. ad paid for by the Campaign for Houstonā.
It is a breach of the Federal Election Campaign Act to fail to properly declare the source of an election ad.
