California parents angry kids appear in gay political ad

Some California parents upset that their children were used as “political activists” in a “Yes On 8” campaign ad confronted the advertising firm that created the spot on Thursday.

The parents said they never gave consent to advertising firm Schubert Flint Public Affairs to use images of their children, and now they want the spot pulled from the airwaves.

“We were just outraged someone would use the image of our daughter without our consent,“ said parent James Moore.

The video images in question were taken at the wedding of a kindergarten and first-grade teacher by the San Francisco Chronicle.

“My son is 6; he’s not a political activist,“ said parent Laura Hodder. “I don’t think anyone has a right to use his image and manipulate him and exploit him like that.“

Despite a California code that protects your image and says you cannot use the image of a person without consent, an attorney said the children were in a public place and gave up their right to privacy.

“There is a major exception to that code that applies to news events, sporting broadcasts and political campaigns,“ attorney Andy Stroud said.

The parents were turned away from Schubert Flint Public Affairs.
However, an attorney from the “Yes On 8” campaign sent a letter to the parents that said “with your consent, public school officials used your children for a staged publicity stunt on the steps of San Francisco City Hall in support of Gay Marriage. The school officials even sought out media coverage.“

But Moore said he is not giving up his fight and said he will take the issue to lawmakers.

“We don’t want other parents to face this lack of control of the image of their own child … it’s really disturbing,“ Moore said.