Republican politician slammed for sharing ignorant campaign ad attacking his opponent’s sexuality
If she wins, Ali Brown could be the first openly LGBT+ woman to hold the city-county council seat. (Ali Brown for Indy/ Facebook)
A Republican city county council candidate is being criticised on social media after posting an ad online attacking his opponent’s sexuality as part of his campaign.
Adam Cox is the Republican candidate to represent District Five in Indianapolis, and his Democratic opponent, Ali Brown, is openly bisexual.
Brown posted a screenshot of the ad on Twitter, which shows a picture of Brown with the caption “Liberal Ali Brown endorsed by LGTBQ Victory Fund”.
She wrote: “My opponent thinks being a member of the LGBTQ community is a bad thing. This is why we need comprehensive hate crimes legislation.”
So another digital attack ad against me.
My opponent thinks being a member of the lgbtq community is a bad thing. This is why we need comprehensive hate crimes legislation. @VictoryFund @INStonewall @glaad pic.twitter.com/qA9YUj4fdr
— Ali Brown for Indy (@aliforindy) October 22, 2019
If Brown were to win the city county council seat, it would make her the first openly LGBT+ woman to hold one.
She told IndyStar: “My identity isn’t something to be attacked.
“You want to push back on me on something else, that’s fine, but we’re in a state where we don’t have any protections for people who identify as LGBTQ … And to see somebody use that as a dog whistle, that’s where my thought was — how is this hurting kids?”
Brown said she is proud to be a part of the LGBT+ community, but never wanted it to be a central part of her campaign.
She added: “It’s like, people don’t have to agree on issues, right? People just have to agree that in life, there’s dignity.
“So, they can believe that I’m wrong, as long as they’re not putting up barriers for that… I think when somebody attacks on something like this, it pushes us back.”
Cox maintains that the ad was taken out of context, and the Republican politician wrote on Facebook: “My opponent is making false accusations about my position on LGBTQ rights.
“I don’t think it’s bad that she’s in the LGBTQ community, I just oppose her liberal views. Being LGBTQ doesn’t equate to being liberal. To be clear, I support LGBTQ rights and I support a comprehensive bias crimes law.
“A digital ad by my campaign highlighted that Ali Brown is a liberal and it scrolled through six liberal organisations that support her, including Progressive Change, Vote Mama, Everytown for Gun Safety, Planned Parenthood, LGBTQ Victory Fund, and Moms Demand Action.
“She put out a screen shot that distorts the ad by using only a second of it. The truth is she is a liberal supported by six liberal organisations – and it’s also true I support LGBTQ rights.”
We are appalled that in a major city in 2019, LGBTQ candidates like @aliforindy are still being attacked for who they are. The purpose of this ad is clear: to use Ali’s identity as a wedge issue. We condemn this ad in the strongest terms. https://t.co/hEPFVnhTLW— Victory Fund (@VictoryFund) October 22, 2019
The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which works to recruit, train and elect out public officials, wrote on Twitter: “We are appalled that in a major city in 2019, LGBTQ candidates like Ali Brown are still being attacked for who they are.
“The purpose of this ad is clear: to use Ali’s identity as a wedge issue. We condemn this ad in the strongest terms.”
