TV Star Kelsey Grammer Featured in Latest Yes on State Issue 1 Ad
COLUMBUS - The Yes on State Issue 1 campaign took to the airwaves this week with its newest advertising push spotlighting the support of "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer .
The most current spot features Grammer urging support for State Issue 1. The actor who rose to stardom on “Cheers” believes that the constitutional amendment will ensure equal rights for all crime victims in Ohio.
The ad describes Grammer's experiences as a family member of crime victims. His father was killed in his home at age 38, and his sister was brutally raped and murdered while only a teenager.
"My father's killer was released and allowed to live out his days in freedom, we were never told," Grammer says in the ad. "I had to find out through the National Enquirer . It seemed like a cruel joke."
"Marsy's Law for Ohio ensures equal rights for victims and their families to be informed and heard before criminals can be paroled. I urge you to support Marsy’s Law."
The 30-second ad is part of a significant broadcast and cable television buy airing throughout the state during the final days of the campaign.
If voters approve the proposal this fall, State Issue 1 would grant a series of constitutional protections to crime victims and their immediate families for the first time in Ohio’s history.
Under the amendment, crime victims would have the right to notification of all proceedings as well as be guaranteed the right to be heard at every step of the process. Victims would also have the right to have input on all plea deals for offenders as well as the right to restitution resulting from the financial impact of the crime. A crime victim who feels their rights are being violated could go before a judge to ask that their rights be protected.
State Issue 1 is supported by a broad bipartisan coalition of more than 350 elected officials and law enforcement leaders across Ohio, including Governor John Kasich and Attorney General Mike DeWine .
The effort to place State Issue 1 in the state constitution comes after similar ballot issues were approved in California, Illinois, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The Marsy’s Law movement began in 1983, when a young woman named Marsy Nicholas was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend. Only a week after her murder, Marsy’s mother and brother, Henry T. Nicholas, walked into a grocery store where they saw the accused murderer. The family, who had just come from a visit to Marsy’s grave, had no idea the accused murderer had been released on bail.