The marriage equality activist group Freedom to Marry has released a commercial that’s being aired on national television, featuring former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson.

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The marriage equality activist group Freedom to Marry has released a commercial that’s being aired on national television, featuring former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson. Simpson, who is a Republican, was a representative in Wyoming for 18 years and held numerous senior leadership positions. The 30-second spot features Simpson making the case for marriage equality, despite the connotations of what being a Republican means.

Freedom to Marry president Evan Wolfson believes that the ad will have a strong influence. “Speaking as a conservative, a lifelong Republican, and a son of the West, Senator Simpson talks of his values of freedom and limited government and the joy of marriage,” Wolfson stated. “The ad shows the bipartisan momentum for the freedom to marry. And recent rulings against marriage discrimination by nine out of nine federal district judges show the legal trajectory of our campaign: toward more freedom, more dignity, and more families enjoying equality under the law.”

The full ad can be viewed here, and the transcript follows:

“I was raised here, Cody, Wyoming. It was a town of western values; independence, freedom. I’m a Republican and the Party’s basic core is government out of your life and the right to be left alone. Whether you’re gay or lesbian or straight, if you love someone, and you want to marry them, marry them. I have had a wonderful married life, why shouldn’t somebody else have the joy of marriage. Live and let live. It is very simple.”

Video: Freedom to Marry 
Photo: Wikipedia