Source: The Hill
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the U.S., has recently launched a six-figure ad buy in key swing states including North Carolina.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade worries about future court decisions regarding same-sex marriage have led the HRC to advocate for progressive candidates who will protect marriage equality rights.
“We are in unprecedented times, with threats to the lives and livelihoods of LGBTQ+ people growing by the day,” Jennifer Pike Bailey, HRC’s deputy director of government affairs, told The Hill.. “It’s why we must make every effort to set pro-equality candidates on a path to victory.”
A bill to codify same-sex marriage rights into law, the Respect for Marriage Act, has passed the U.S. House but has yet to go to a vote in the currently split U.S. Senate. The bill was introduced after the Roe v Wade decision as Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court should revisit its ruling in cases including Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage equality nationwide.
The ads in North Carolina ask voters to cast their ballots for Cheri Beasly instead of Rep. Ted Budd who voted against the act when it came to a vote in the House. If progressives can gain a larger majority in the Senate, marriage equality is much more likely to become a federal law.
According to the HRC ads, “They’re planning to take away our rights and freedoms, roll back same-sex marriage, make it harder to vote,” the ads continue. “They threaten our progress, our future. Voting is how we fight back.”
