Behind-the-scenes fighting over Referendum I, the same-sex couples issue, has heated up in the final days before Tuesday’s election.
Supporters of the referendum claimed Wednesday that attack ads produced by an affiliate of Focus on the Family are misleading and false, and asked that they be pulled by broadcast outlets.
The request was met with mixed response today.
Max Brooks, sales manager for Clear Channel, said the ad entitled “The Price We Pay,” would not run Friday on radio stations KHOW and KOA.
“We asked Focus on the Family to substantiate the claims it made in the ad and I haven’t heard back from them,” he said Thursday afternoon. “So we will not run the ad Friday. It’s not scheduled to run over the weekend.”
KUSA-Channel 9 general manager Mark Cornetta refused to say if he was pulling the ad or not. “We don’t discuss our business dealings with other media,” he said.
KKTV-Channel 11 in Colorado Springs said the outlet reviewed allegations by both sides and chose to continue airing the ad, said general manager Charlie Peterson.
Supporters of the referendum claimed that Focus’ ad states the referendum “is all about redefining marriage to include same-sex couples.”
Attorney Mark Grueskin, representing the supporters, said the referendum achieves “quite the contrary.”
Quoting the Blue Book voters guide put out by the state, Grueskin said Referendum I “specifies that domestic partnerships are not marriage…” and does not change the state’s definition of marriage “…as only the union of one man and one woman.”
Jim Pfaff, co-founder of Colorado Family Action, the affiliate of Focus on the Family that produced the ad, responded, “This underhanded tactic by those ultimately seeking the redefinition of marriage in Colorado is no surprise.
“Instead of answering the substance of our ad–which outlines the social and economic cost for our state…the domestic-partner proponents are demanding our ad be withheld from voters in the last few days before the election.”
