Gay marriage opponents target court in ads

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Opponents of same-sex marriage in California are targeting state judges rather than gay couples in a ballot initiative ad campaign, observers say.

Same-sex marriage opponents have introduced Proposition 8, which would amend the state's constitution to overturn a California Supreme Court ruling allowing such unions. In their first television ad, the opponents turn their scorn not on homosexuals, but the judges allowing them to marry, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

The newspaper quotes the ad as saying, "Four judges ignored 4 million voters and imposed same-sex marriage on California. It's no longer about tolerance. Acceptance of gay marriage is now mandatory."

Opponents of Proposition 8, meanwhile, launched an ad featuring a straight, middle-age couple in a long-standing traditional marriage urging voters not to take away the right of their lesbian daughter to marry.

"Californians won't be willing to take away rights the government already has granted," Steve Smith, consultant for the anti-Proposition 8 campaign, told the Chronicle.