Laura Bush: Take Me Out of Pro-Gay Marriage Ad

Laura Bush has publicly backed gay marriage in the past, but that apparently doesn't mean she wants her views used to actually promote gay marriage. The Respect for Marriage Coalition released an ad yesterday that includes clips of Bush and fellow Republicans Colin Powell and Dick Cheney discussing their support for gay marriage in interviews. "When she became aware of the advertisement last night, we requested that the group remove her from it," Bush's rep says, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The ad features Bush's 2010 interview with Larry King, in which she said, "When couples are committed to each other and love each other then they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has." But Bush "did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated with the group that made the ad in any way," says her rep. Backlash has been swift, the Atlantic Wire notes, with many labeling Bush a hypocrite. (More Laura Bush stories.)