Brody's Scribbles... Gay Ads Still Playing It Safe

By Matt Baume (San Francisco, California) MAR 14 | This is the ad that just started running in Rhode Island. It features couples, gay and straight, talking about how they met and fell in love, and it tells viewers that it's time for marriage equality.

That's sweet, and gentle, and nice. Our opponents will not be any of these things. They will aggressively attack, just as they have over politicians ... and kids ... and religion.

They're going to bring up all of those issues in Rhode Island. And this ad doesn't get out in front of any of them.

In fact, it's awfully similar to this ad from the Prop 8 campaign and this ad from Maine.

And how'd those work out?

Now, we can easily talk about how urgent marriage equality is. Look at Courage Campaign's video featuring Derence and Ed. Ed has Alzheimer's, and if we take any longer to overturn Prop 8, he might not be able to recognize his partner of 40 years by the time they're finally able to get married.

That's scary, just like our opponents' ads. But unlike those ads, it's actually true.

When we fail to get this urgency across, we see situations like what happened this week in Maryland. There, a marriage equality bill passed the Senate, but the House sent it back to committee. That means it's done for 2011. And couples who need the protection of marriage now, whether it's for medical leave, health insurance, taxes, child custody, are left with virtually nothing for another year.

The stories of Marylanders who will suffer because of this will not be sweet or gentle or nice. And that's why they have to be told.

So, what ad would YOU make in Rhode Island? Give us your ideas in the comments.

Now, there's some good news this week. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo promised to give his full attention to marriage equality, and put his most senior aide in charge of the effort. That's good, but they can't do it alone. So if you're in New York, contact your representatives now, and tell them how discrimination hurts you, your family, and your friends.

That also goes for Colorado. There's a civil unions bill in the Senate right now. And the vote's going to be very close. Coloradans, your representatives need to hear from you now.

And last, Washington state. House Bill 1648 would recognize out-of-state marriages as domestic partnerships. It protects married couples who would otherwise lose everything the moment they enter the state. It passed the house last week, now it's in the Senate. Call your Senators.

It's up to you to prevent a repeat of what happened in Maryland this week. Rhode Island. New York. Colorado. Washington. If you don't live there, you know someone who does. All it takes to start the conversation is a simple Facebook wall post.