SAN FRANCISCO – A bride dressed in white, takes her journey down the isle only to face various obstacles including a flying veil, a clingy flower girl, and a guest who trips her with a cane, impeding her from reuniting with the anxious groom. The commercial reads, “What if you couldn’t marry the person you love? Every day gay and lesbian couples are prevented from marrying.”

 This commercial is part of the Let California Ring campaign that uses various mediums in order to influence the percentage of Californians who are currently undecided over the issue of same-sex marriage. But how will these commercials, that do not feature gay couples at all, sway the opinion of undecided Californians?

Thalia Zepatos, Director of Organizing and Training of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, is a spokesperson for and executive committee member of the Let California Ring Project. “Getting married is a chance to stand before family and friends and celebrate love and commitment. This ad, for the first time, invites everyone in California to imagine how it would feel to be stopped from marrying the person they love,” she said.

The ingenious appeal of the ad, therefore, is its ability to place a straight person in the shoes of a gay person. Even though there are religious groups who continue to believe marriage is the foundation of family created by a man and woman, Zepatos, on the other hand, believes that “people can have different religious beliefs, but in the end we should all be treated fairly. Every faith has the freedom to choose which marriages to bless, and there are many faith communities who support the freedom to marry.”

Zepatos hopes that aside from viewing the television ad online at www.LetCaliforniaRing.org , people will get involved by “hosting House Parties, having conversations with friends and family, and by donating to keep this effort moving forward.”

The ads will be featured in the cities of Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs. The campaign is in response to Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to veto a bill that legalizes same-sex marriages, much like he did two years ago when he vetoed a similar bill.