ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Supporters of a measure that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative on Thursday released a response ad to the opposition group’s depiction of an offensive and distorted cartoon ads of gay and transgender individuals.
In the last two weeks, ads paid for and produced by those opposing Proposition 5 – Jim Minnery, “Protect Your Rights”, and Glenn Clary and Jerry Prevo’s Anchorage Baptist Temple’s “Protect your Freedoms” — have made false claims about the legal effects of Proposition 5, according to One Anchorage, an advocacy group that supports the ordinance
According to a statement by One Anchorage, TV versions of the ads “contain highly offensive cartoon imagery which seeks to dehumanize and demean our transgender friends, family and neighbors.”
The Yes On Proposition 5 – One Anchorage campaign has called for the “offensive ads opposing Proposition 5 to be removed from all broadcast and internet media immediately.”
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In response, the “Yes on 5” campaign on Thursday released this ad:
At issue are two ads released by opponents of the measure — one that states day care centers would be forced to hire “transvestites” or face jail time, and the other that states gym owners would be forced to open women’s locker rooms to anyone claiming a female identity.
Watch:
Jim Minnery, a leader of the “Protect Your Rights – Vote No On Prop. 5″ campaign, which produced the anti-transgender commercials, said the ads point out that because “transgender” isn’t defined in the ordinance, scenarios like those portrayed in the commercials could play out under the law.
Proposition 5 goes before Anchorage voters on April 3.