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LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — A Boise filmmaker says one of Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's campaign advertisements uses footage he filmed of gay rights protests during the 2014 Idaho Legislature.
The Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/1pEuSka) reports that Otter's ad uses leftover footage that didn't make it into the feature-length movie highlighting the multiple demonstrations that took place at the Idaho Statehouse urging lawmakers to add protections for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.
Michael Gough says he put the footage cut from the documentary on his website to sell.
"All of a sudden I was like, 'Wait a minute,'" said Gough, calling back when he was watching one of Otter's ads. "I rewound it and said, 'Oh my God, that's my shot.'"
Gough added that Otter's campaign paid $75 to use his five-second shot of the interior view of the Idaho Capitol dome. At the time, however, Gough didn't know it was going to be used in a political campaign.
"I was excited because somebody actually paid $75 for it," he said.
Otter has publicly opposed gay marriage in Idaho and has continued to fight the federal courts despite the ban being overturned last week.
Otter has also recently defended the owners of a for-profit wedding chapel in northern Idaho who said they will not conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies even though the city has an anti-sexual-orientation discrimination ordinance.
The governor is running for his third term against Democratic opponent A.J. Balukoff and several other challengers.
Otter's campaign did not respond to the Lewiston Tribune's request for comment.
Gough said he was at first uneasy with the idea his work was being used to promote Otter, but believes he can't pick and choose who gets to use his footage.
"Doing freelance video, I'm in the service business," Gough said. "I'm not going to be a hypocrite like some of those guys might be, where they want to deny services to certain types of people. I put this footage up for sale as a service business, and even if I don't agree with who may use my service, I can't really discriminate."
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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com
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