Watch Live: Obama’s Counterterrorism Speech

Watch Today’s BlazeCast With Your Questions, Comments & Live Chat!

Faith

‘Hijacked’: Gay Couple Sues Over Engagement Photo That Was Used in Anti-Gay Political Ads

Sep. 26, 2012 1:32pm Billy Hallowell

DENVER (TheBlaze/AP) — A gay couple from New Jersey suing a group that used their engagement photo says they cringe when they see the image after it was used in an attack mailer against a Colorado Republican in a legislative primary.

Gay Couple Sues Over Photo in Anti Gay Political Ad | Public Advocate

Photo Credit: Kristina Hill Photography

The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in Denver on behalf of the couple, Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere, and their photographer Kristina Hill against Virginia-based Public Advocate of the United States. NBC News has more about the photo’s origins and the resulting controversy:

…Privitere and…Edwards posed for their engagement photo, holding hands and kissing, in front of the Brooklyn Bridge in 2010. The image captured one of the happiest days of their lives. But earlier this year, their special moment was soured when the photo was used in two anti-gay mailers in Colorado.

On Wednesday, the couple and their photographer planned to file a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Colorado… They are seeking a court order saying the group violated the law, damages, costs and attorney fees for the allegedly unauthorized use of the copyrighted photo.

“We want to take back the beautiful moment in our lives that was reflected in our engagement photo before it was hijacked,” Edwards explained in an interview with NBC News earlier this week. “We also … want to take a stand for others who might be similarly targeted in the future.”

The photo was used in mailers in a June primary election against Sen. Jean White, who supported a civil union bill that was blocked in the state House. White lost the primary. As NBC notes, one of the mailers featured the image of the kiss and read, “State Senator Jean White’s Idea of ‘Family Values?’”

Photo Credit: Public Advocate

Another, which was aimed at House candidate Jeffrey Hare said, “Jeffrey Hare’s Vision for Weld County?” Hare lost his race as well.

It’s not currently clear how the photo made its way to Public Advocate to be used, although the couple did have an engagement blog where it was posted. Edwards, Privitere and Hill claim that they were never approached for permission to use the photograph.

“The use of Tom and Brian’s likenesses, or of Kristina’s copyrighted photo, was wholly gratuitous,” SPLC lawyer Christine Sun told NBC News. “Public Advocate could have just paid for a stock photo of a gay couple kissing but instead Public Advocate decided to take this very personal photo of this happy moment and use it to attack gay people.”

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (111)

chips1
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:22pm
Isn’t that Obama’s motto. “Spreading the Health”?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
The_Jerk
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:16pm
SPLC is another Jewish led, divide the society, change the society, organization. Don’t know how many times you need to see the same old story in order to understand the theme?

ACLU: Rabbi Daniel Lapin, in America’s Real War, by Mutnomah Publishers, 1999 said: … The ACLU’s leadership is almost reminiscent of a temple board meeting.

Hollywood:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein19-2008dec19,0,4676183.column

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
JUSTANOTHEROPINION
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:09pm
I would not appreciate getting a picture showing this, in person, much less in the mail. This is proof that P.D.A.(Public Display of Affection) is way out of control. I don’t mean just the Gays either. Whatever happened to Americas’ Morals? I don’t want to turn a corner and be faced with two people trying give each other a tonsillectomy with their tongues(I don’t care what sex the couple is). Move closer to God and ask him your questions.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Lothmar
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:48pm
  Wait, so they go this mailer?
  
  Are they log jammer~ Er log cabin republicans?
  
  Report this comment
Verceofreason
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:09pm
‘Abomination’ is in the eyes of the beholder.
I think your wife’s backside is an abomination.
Rush Limbaugh’s face is an abomination.
Log in to ReplyReply
- AvengerK
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:21pm
  Did you pout and stamp your foot as you typed that unhinged and juvenile rant PERCYVERCY?
  
  Report this comment
- jacobstroubles
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:23pm
  Good luck to you.
  Hope you enjoy the tribualtion.
  
  Report this comment
- Zipit
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:30pm
  VERCE! Desperation is such an ugly quality! Try and do better!
  
  Report this comment
- woodyee
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:48pm
  VerceofHysteria has had his panties up in a bunch since birth, when the doctor smacked his mom for having him…
  
  Report this comment
- wvernon1981
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:53pm
  Verce, you make a good point. Disgust is a subjective emotion, not an objective, all encompassing statement about reality.
  
  Report this comment
- Just_Us2
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 4:18pm
  Verce = pillow biter
  
  Report this comment
- QuincySmith
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 6:08pm
  treason;
  
  I suppose you expected it, so here it is: your post is an abomination.
  
  Report this comment
- The Gooch
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 6:14pm
  Hey, Verce:
  How about a lecture on how “gay” folks don’t have to practice “People First Language”? Funny.
  
  Report this comment
moreteaplease
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:03pm
gay couple from New Jersey suing a group that used their engagement photo says they cringe when they see the image after it was used in an attack mailer against a Colorado Republican in a legislative primary.
——————————————
Makes me feel sick to my stomach.

BTW: BOO HOO! You want your life choices to be out front and center for all to see then you have to accept whatever ramifications may come with that and realize that not everybody finds what you do so beautiful. You can’t have it both ways.

Of course if Sharia becomes law in this country you’ll have more than this to be concerned about.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- The Jewish Avenger
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:11pm
  The photo will be photoshopped of them falling from a building instead of in front of trees.
  (Calm down DHS)
  
  Report this comment
- jacobstroubles
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:31pm
  OH.. dont worry..too much.. they will absolutely get to enjoy the many wonderful benifits of sharia law very shortly…yes. all of it’s dark, vile and uglyness in full glory. oh it will be a most unpleasant time.
  coming out of the closet…oh…well.. that might be a stamped..you’ll be hearing.. the lo spark of high heeled boys.
  
  they/it will hunt down ALL OF THE INFIDELS! Pretty darned neat..huh…? well in a sick, ugly satanic sort of way. But.. there is always the option right now, for them to drop to their sinful knees and call out to Jesus, repent of their sins, while they still live in a free America, or not.
  
  And the very, very best part…. It’s totally a free choice…
  
  Report this comment
The Jewish Avenger
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:58pm
Because they would NEVER do the opposite…

Pray for Maine because everyone is too damn scared and the clergy are all lined up for a photo op to say they’re on board….News is always pro-gay marriage with no opposition.

But I get it, last year the gays blew (pun intended) 4 million and the opposition spent 1 million. However, the gays went after EVERY SINGLE PERSON who publicly donated. And even after all of the money after all the push from Pingree and her sugar daddy, it was the LARGEST gap in Maines voting history on the issue AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE. Two years later, its back on the ballot.

Please, pray. Thanks. Hopefully after this year if we dodge another assault, maybe someone will just ban it outright. I’ve seen and read what happens in Massachusetts, I’ll cringe if they get it passed.

Oh and everytime you point out Massachusetts ways?
“We would NEVER do anything like that.”
Uh huh.

The old saying was “As Maine goes so does the country”…just hopefully the brainwashed have enough sense to still vote for what is RIGHT and the voter fraud that was shot down in Maine (Thanks again Portland) wont see us being raided by cheaters.. but once again, the majority of the vote last year came from Portland, I can only imagine how that number will magically double… and then ballots will magically be “lost”

I can see the PC guilt cards and the threats that hang over people and sick of it. I’d love to see a 60/40 vote against gay marraige in Nove

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:08pm
  I’m not in Californicate, but it keeps coming back like a bad penny, there.
  
  Report this comment
valleyfever
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:58pm
Do gay people copyright their photos? Photographers don’t automatically copyright every picture they take. There’s more to this story.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Walkabout
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:06pm
  “It’s not currently clear how the photo made its way to Public Advocate to be used, although the couple did have an engagement blog where it was posted”
  
  I think you are right. If they didn’t copyright the picture, then they should lose.
  
  Report this comment
- ButtersDurst
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 6:46pm
  I could be wrong about this but I think there is already an implied copyright when it comes to media such as photographs.
  
  Report this comment
cause_glen_said_so
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:56pm
“Why not suck on a barnyard animal?”

Because diversity is a great thing and we all cannot be like you now can we?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
AvengerK
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:53pm
I’m curious…had a pro-homosexual marriage group “hijacked” the photo of their “beautiful moment” would they be just as outraged and litigious?

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Exrepublisheep
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:01pm
  Nope. But if your picture is going to be used publicly you need to sign a release.
  
  Report this comment
- Gonzo
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:02pm
  Well, we have two new gay sitcoms this season. More opportunity to witness just how superior gays are to straights! Hooray!
  
  Report this comment
- Brizz
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:08pm
  Publicity stunt? Please excuse my skepticism, but who is benefiting from this stupid mailer?
  
  Report this comment
- AvengerK
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:14pm
  GONZO…a beer says they witll both tank quickly.
  
  Report this comment
- chips1
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:30pm
  I wonder if Vegas has odds on which one brings home the disease.
  
  Report this comment
Female
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:51pm
BAD AD!

Anybody who has read anything I have written regarding LGBT issues and especially, marriage; know I have total disgust for the lie and the relationship in a generic, worldview sense. Yet, when it comes to selecting and singling out individuals as in the hijacking their photo…well, it is hurtful; like publishing a picture of me drunk from my early 20′s without my permission. They should have paid some models to do the same pose. They are guilty of stealing a memory and creating new ones for everybody else….. not good!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:58pm
  If you are in a public place, they can photograph you all they want, without your permission.
  
  Report this comment
- Walkabout
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:04pm
  Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  I agree with female. It is wrong if the photograph was one that the “couple” commissioned & paid for. It is just a libertarian & rule of law thing.
  
  If someone saw the couple & photographer in public & snapped their own picture, then the ‘couple” have no legal recourse.
  
  Report this comment
- Verceofreason
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:05pm
  The photographer with the copyright, doesn’t think so.
  YOU are really clueless.
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:10pm
  That’s what I just said.
  
  Report this comment
Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:50pm
Owebama likes his men to be older than him, but white.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- CaptGreg
  Posted on September 27, 2012 at 4:25pm
  Kal Penn is only 35 though. Right?
  
  Report this comment
PhineasJWhoopee
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:49pm
This photo is so gay.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:00pm
  Better keep an eye out for Wanda Sykes and Miley Cyrus or they will preach you to death.
  
  Report this comment
- Exrepublisheep
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:02pm
  booooooooo
  
  Report this comment
blackyb
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:47pm
Silly azzed girly things.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
blackyb
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:46pm
No wonder those silly “gays” don’t have a woman, they are ugly and no one wants them. They are nasty and it takes a fool to say this is normal.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
jimikimble
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:45pm
A terrible breach of copyright law and the feelings of individuals. I personally am against gay marriage. I am pro “person” however and this is not playing by the rules. They deserve to pay the consequences of breaking the law.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Sirfoldallot
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:45pm
Awwwwwww , in a Muslim world this is not possible.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- encinom
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:56pm
  But is a secular republic, we have laws that Christians and Bigots are bound to live by.
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:01pm
  @ENCINOMORON
  Unfortunately, there’s no law against stupidity, or you would be put away for life.
  
  Report this comment
- The Third Archon
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 5:39pm
  @ANONYMOUS
  LOL–if THAT’S what would happen to ECINOM, then I SHUDDER to think what would happen to you; probably be tossed into a chest full of live scorpions and locked inside and forgotten about.
  
  Report this comment
Chuck7884
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:45pm
If it was on face book it may have been placed in public domain.you can not sell the photo but you can use it.or maybe I am mistaken.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:52pm
  If it said copyright on it, they cannot use it. If it didn’t say anything, who’s to know?
  
  Report this comment
Prosecute_Constitutional_Treason_In_Washington
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:44pm
Homosexuals spreading disease. Yuk. They might as well bend over and take one in the axx for Obummer.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
PorkPIG
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:43pm
*** Vomit ****

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Prosecute_Constitutional_Treason_In_Washington
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:42pm
They might as well bend over and take one for Obummer in the xxs. Their expectation was not privacy. These homosexuals are vile, evil, wicked.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- encinom
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 3:31pm
  Despite your hatred and bigotry, the great thing about this nation is that the rights of the minorities are protected and the laws enforced equally, regardless of the vile bigotry of you and other small minded Christians.
  
  Report this comment
- Just_Us2
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 4:24pm
  encinom = pillow biter…….keep your kids away from him…..no one wants a perforated bowel….
  
  Report this comment
- Prosecute_Constitutional_Treason_In_Washington
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 5:34pm
  @ ENCINOM
  
  I suspect you are bought and paid for a full time mole for the dems. Moles lurk everywhere
  spreading disinformation, lies, immorality, and disease.
  
  Report this comment
Prosecute_Constitutional_Treason_In_Washington
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:41pm
“hijacked” “attacked” Words of emotion. The legal standard is truth. If this is what these two homosexuals did in public, they need to own up and accept their expectation was not to have privacy.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Walkabout
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:48pm
  If this photograph was illegally taken form the photographer, then it is a crime.
  
  If the photographer license the photograph & there was not stipulation as to how it could be used, then the photographer nor the couple have no recourse.
  
  Just easier to photograph gays in public & then there is nothing they can do. Like fisting in a gay bar.
  
  Report this comment
- KevINtampa
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:54pm
  But wouldn’t you love for something like this to establish a ruling in court that your image is personal property. Such a ruling would strengthen privacy rights. This would mean the gestapo would have to get a warrant from a judge before putting you under surveillance; likewise it would also throw a wrench into the gestapo cameras being setup everywhere. A ruling in favor of a couple of gays undermining the infrastructure of the gestapo arm, that would be priceless IMO.
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:56pm
  It says it was taken from their FaceBook page. If it didn’t say it was copy-righted on or below the picture, how would they know?
  
  Report this comment
Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:41pm
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a Hate Group.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- chips1
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:17pm
  Depends on what “is” is.
  
  Report this comment
Al J Zira
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:40pm
So this couple had a photo taken and had it copyrighted immediately after? I didn’t know a photo was automatically copyrighted especially is it’s then posted on an online blog without any copyright included. Hmm. If that’s the case I’m owed millions.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- encinom
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:58pm
  I love how you godly Christians justify stealing. This organization should be paying through the nose for their theft and misuse of the photo.
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 2:17pm
  Oh, you mean like all those photoshopped pictures of GW, Encino-crite?
  
  Report this comment
- wvernon1981
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 3:04pm
  “Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. ”
  
  copyright.gov
  
  Report this comment
- Just_Us2
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 4:27pm
  encinom are you a lawyer AND a pillow biter….or just a pillow biter?
  
  Report this comment
- QuincySmith
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 6:16pm
  encinom;
  
  “I love how you godly Christians justify stealing….” ~~~ I love how you progressive gay atheists justify stealing, as in redistributing wealth.
  
  Report this comment
chickenfried
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:39pm
Boo-freakin’-hoo

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
KevINtampa
Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:39pm
While I don’t agree with changing the definition and meaning of marriage, these folks have a point. If an atheist wanted to bash Christianity I wouldn’t want them using the image of me praying in church to get their point across.

That said, they should stop using the image. However much money they spent in it’s advertising, should be equally given to these two gays. No more, no less, case closed.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 1:53pm
  It would not bother me a bit if anyone wanted to use a picture of me praying. God and I know what I was doing.
  
  Report this comment
- QuincySmith
  Posted on September 26, 2012 at 6:10pm
  kevin;
  
  When did praying become controversial?
  
  Report this comment

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.