Log Cabin Republicans run anti-FMA print campaign

The Log Cabin Republicans aren't getting angry over Republican support of the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. Instead, the group is using humor in a new print ad campaign addressing the President Bush-backed amendment, which seeks to constitutionally ban legal recognition of same-sex marriages forever. Making light of the profanity-charged confrontation on the Senate floor between Vermont senator Pat Leahy and Vice President Dick Cheney, the ad's tag line reads, "Dick Cheney and Pat Leahy agree on something," citing that the two agree that marriage should be a state issue. The advertisement runs in the July 6 edition of Roll Call and will also be included in upcoming editions of Roll Call and The Hill. The ads were released to correlate with a reported mid-July U.S. Senate vote on the amendment. As in a recent television ad campaign created by Log Cabin, the print ads refer to an instance during a 2000 debate when Cheney referred to same-sex marriage. At that time Cheney said, "That matter is regulated by the states. I think different states are likely to come to different conclusions, and that's appropriate. I don't think there should necessarily be a federal policy in this area." Senator Leahy made similar comments on June 22 when he said, "Marriage is and always has been a state issue, and it should remain so." The TV and print ads are part of Log Cabin's $1 million campaign to block the amendment. The campaign also includes lobbying efforts and nationwide mobilization of Log Cabin members. "We will win this fight because hope, inclusion, and equality will defeat the forces of fear, discrimination, and exclusion," Log Cabin executive director Patrick Guerriero said in a press statement.