Tomorrow, four states will have the opportunity to weigh in on the question of marriage equality, three of which will have the opportunity to embrace the freedom for the very first time. All four campaigns have had fierce efforts both for and against, with millions of dollars spent on ads. As election day approaches, here is a final look at what the campaigns have been saying to the public in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.
Opponents of marriage equality have run fairly uniform ads across four states, largely because the National Organization for Marriage has been the primary source of funding in every one of those campaigns. Most of these ads have relied on misleading claims that individuals who would prefer to discriminate against same-sex couples as victims. Others rely on the false threat that schools will suddenly teach young children about sexuality. One of NOM’s final ads compiles all of these lies into one clip that attempts to scare voters about the “broken promises” of marriage equality. Despite these very negative scare tactics, NOM’s last ad paints opposing equality under the veneer of love and respect for gay people. Watch the Minnesota version of this underhanded ad:
Meanwhile, the state campaigns for equality have actually run very independent campaigns, featuring individuals who live in the state rather than imported scare tactics:
MAINE: Mainers United for Marriage released two of its final ads last week, one of which includes a young man talking about his two moms. One last ad features retired Episcopal Priest Will Brewster and his wife, whose son is a gay veteran: “Our son fought for our freedoms. He should have the freedom to marry.”MARYLAND: One of Maryland’s last significant endorsement comes from Donzaleigh Abernathy, daughter of civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy and God daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. Marylanders for Marriage Equality concludes their campaign by saying “it’s time” to vote for equality because “it’s about fairness.”
MINNESOTA: Many ads have featured “Real Minnesotans Voting No” on the marriage inequality amendment, but two final spots drive home that the measure is discriminatory. One features Lutheran Bishop Herbert Chilstrom and his wife, Minister Corinne Chilstrom, supporting their gay brothers and sisters in Christ. A last speaks to “How We Do Things,” encouraging Minnesotans to vote no because of the “values we share and the values we want to teach our kids.”
WASHINGTON: One of Washington’s last ads to approve Referendum 74 features Jeff, a University of Washington law student who calls his two moms his role models. Washington United for Marriage wraps up its efforts by encouraging all Washington to voters to hop on the marriage equality bandwagon because “it’s about the freedom to marry the person you love.”
Of course, several other marriage equality videos are sweeping the web in the lead-up to election day. One short film from the United Kingdom talks about “Invisible Parents,” the same-sex couples raising children who are not recognized under law. Another comes from “Full Frontal Freedom,” a campaign that went viral with its parody of One Direction’s “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful” about Mitt Romney’s tax returns. Its new video highlights all of the different people who will be impacted by marriage equality. Watch them: