Gratuitous jab at marriage equality of the week: Becky Ruppe

Earlier in the week, Sean Braisted blogged about Democratic Senate candidate Becky Ruppe's radio spot. Thanks to Sean, you can find the audio of the spot here. The ad tells the struggles of her life and then ends with a list of conservative stances including her opposition to "gay marriage."

Thanks for sharing, Ms. Ruppe. Is your district a hotbed of GLBT activism? What exactly prompted you to include that item in your ad? You have heard, I hope, that the Legislature and the voters have already decided this matter in Tennessee.

The ad is also posted here at the Tennessee Democratic Party's blog. Interestingly, it is posted without comment and no one has complained in the comment section.

On her website, she says, "Marriage, as so defined, is a union between one man and one woman: I will make all my decisions regarding this issue based on Christian values." What would she say if she were to learn that some of us who want marriage equality were pursuing it because of Christian values?

Ruppe's ad is pernicious for at least one of two reasons. Either she is misleading the voters into thinking that marriage is an issue in Tennessee or she is whipping up prejudice against GLBT people to bolster her conservative credentials.

If you'd like to share some of your own gratuitous opinions with Ms. Ruppe, you can do so in a variety of ways here.