The National Organization for Marriage and the Minnesota Family Council have released a new television ad this week. The ad touts the anti-gay marriage credentials of GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer and says that Independence candidate Tom Horner and DFLer Mark Dayton support marriage equality. NOM is also praising it’s own efforts to include the civil rights era — and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — in the ad, likening the “struggle” to keep gay marriage illegal in Minnesota to the struggles of African Americans in the 20th Century. Here’s the ad:

Tom Prichard, President of the Minnesota Family Council, said “It is important that the citizens of Minnesota know that both Mark Dayton and Tom Horner support imposing gay ‘marriage’ on Minnesotans without a vote of the people. Only Tom Emmer has publicly supported traditional marriage and the right of the people to vote on this important issue. That’s what this ad communicates.”

Brian Brown of NOM said, “We’ve just released what may very well be our most powerful ad yet . . . focusing on the right of Minnesotans to vote for marriage, with footage from Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous speech and the civil rights movement. In the Minnesota governor’s race, two of the three candidates want to let unelected judges force same-sex marriage on Minnesotans, with only Republican Tom Emmer standing up for the rights of Minnesota voters. Partnering with the Minnesota Family Council, this new ad campaign holds these politicians accountable, making sure that voters know where their candidates stand on marriage.”