Gay Couple Sues Anti-Gay Group Over Misuse of Engagement Photo
Two men whose engagement photo was used without their permission in anti-gay political attack ads by an organization that, according to its website, opposes "the furtherance of so-called 'Gay Rights,'" are now suing the organization.
"Our case is about the defilement of a beautiful moment," Christine P. Sun, the deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, explained at a press conference on Wednesday.
The beautiful moment occurred a little over two years ago, when Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere were preparing for their wedding. They hired a photographer, Kristina Hill, also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, to shoot engagement photos. One of their favorite was a black and white photo that showed the two men holding hands and kissing with the Manhattan skyline in the background. They posted the photo on a blog they'd started to celebrate their engagement and upcoming marriage.
Nearly two years later, a doctored version of the photograph popped up in a political mailer in Colorado, attacking the Republican former-state Sen. Jean White, who had supported recent legislation that would have legalized civil unions for gay couples in the state. The Manhattan skyline was photoshopped away and replaced with a snowy forest scene, suggesting the photograph was shot in the state. Across the photo, a red and white band proclaims "State Senator Jean White's Idea of 'Family Values?'" A similar version of the photograph was sent out to Colorado residents, attacking a Republican candidate for the Colorado House, Jeffrey Hare.
According to the back of the mailers, the sender was the "Public Advocate of the United States," an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center deemed a hate group last year. The Public Advocate, which is not an organization of the U.S. government, has a history of anti-gay rhetoric and demonstrations. This history includes a fundraising letter that once asked readers to ?imagine a world where the police allow homosexual adults to rape young boys in the streets"; the claim that the Transportation Safety Administration's safety procedures at airports are part of a "homosexual agenda"; and the performance of a "Man-Donkey Mock Wedding Ceremony."
Edwards and Privitere were shocked and furious to discover earlier this summer that their engagement photo had been "hijacked by a hate group," as Edwards put it. For Edwards, the experience recalled memories of his childhood in North Carolina, where he was frequently bullied in school. "We felt it was our moral obligation to stand up to this injustice," he said, explaining why he, his husband, and Hill decided to file the suit.
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I can't even imagine the horror they must of felt when they saw how their intimate moment was destroyed in this manner. I hope they can at least get some monetary compensation for their pain and humiliation.
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