Mayor Pete Buttigieg defended same-sex wedding ads aired on the Hallmark Channel after the network removed gay-themed commercials by the wedding planning website Zola.
“Families are built on love—no matter what they look like,” Buttigieg wrote on Twitter Sunday afternoon.
The ads featured two women getting married and kissing, prompting criticism from the conservative group One Million Moms:
Hallmark removed the ads but soon reversed its decision after receiving criticism from Buttigieg and other gay advocates.
“Being ‘family-friendly’ means honoring love, not censoring difference,” Buttigieg wrote. “This truth will be more important than ever as we rebuild our nation into a place defined by belonging, not by exclusion”:
By Sunday evening, the Hallmark Cards CEO apologized for removing the ads.
“The Crown Media team has been agonizing over this decision as we’ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused,” Hallmark Cards CEO Mike Perry said. “Said simply, they believe this was the wrong decision. We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused.”