A gay couple whose wedding photo was stolen and used in 2004 in an ad taken by USA Next to attack the AARP’s opposition to President Bush’s Social Security Privatization plan by saying that the AARP is anti-troop and pro-gay marriage, has lost their lawsuit. The couple contended that the ad used their photograph to libel them:
Judge Walton rejected the gay couple’s claims that the ad libeled them by suggesting they did not support the military. “Facially, nothing in the advertisement suggests, as the plaintiffs posit, that they are unpatriotic American citizens,” the judge wrote. He said because the ad addressed issues of public concern, Messrs. Raymen and Hansen could not prevent the use of their likenesses.
The New York Sun suggests that the ad was used to attack the AARP’s position on a ballot measure banning gay marriage in Ohio, but as far as I remember, it was used regarding Social Security. In any case, the judge ruled against the gay couple. Said Judge Reggie Walton: “While the defendants’ unauthorized use of the plaintiffs’ photograph cannot be considered the pinnacle of decency and good taste, this court cannot conclude that it violated Oregon civil law.”
Previously
Conservatives Plunder Gay Wedding Photos [tr]
