McCaskill

Gallaudet University has told a group fighting same-sex marriage in Maryland to stop airing an ad in which it cites Angela McCaskill, the administrator who was suspended last week after it was revealed that she signed a petition to put same-sex marriage on the ballot. Writes the Baltimore Sun:

“The video they are using, the ad, is actually copyrighted by us,” said Katherine Murphy, executive director of communications and public relations at Gallaudet in Washington. “We’re in touch with our attorneys to have them follow up with the group to ask them to take down the ad.”

Deana Bass, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Marriage Alliance, said the group has not heard any formal complaints about the spot, and it has no intention of removing it.

“It is a fair use of the footage,” said Bass. “At this point, [the incident] is in the public space. We want people to understand what is at stake with Question 6.”

The ad, put together by the Maryland Marriage Alliance, says that McCaskill’s suspension serves as evidence that people who oppose same-sex marriage will be targeted if the law is approved by voters on November 6.

McCaskill’s attorney said that she had not consented to be mentioned in the ad, and that he signing a petition to see same-sex marriage on the ballot and her general opinion on same-sex marriage are different things.

Gallaudet’s president has said that he put McCaskill on leave because of concerns that students had raised about her ability to serve as the university’s chief diversity officer. A coalition fighting for same-sex marriage has said that McCaskill should not have been out on leave for exercising her democratic rights.