A grieving mother, who tragically lost her son to gun violence, expressed her deep distress upon discovering that she was featured in an advertisement criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kimberly Burrell, along with several others who have tragically lost loved ones to gun violence, shared their stories in an interview with NBC News in July. Burrell’s son, Darryl Pray Jr., was taken from her at the young age of 18 in 2009, falling victim to a fatal shooting.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she painted a vivid picture of a struggling mother, barely making ends meet on minimum wage, desperately trying to feed her children. “They’re slowly suffocating us, without actually taking our lives,” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion.
The conservative Restoration PAC has recently released an attack ad targeting Harris, featuring comments that criticize her support for Bideneomics. The ad includes clips of Harris praising Bideneomics, which the ad dismisses as a failure. In one clip, Burrell states, “They’re killing us without killing us,” followed by a snippet of Harris referring to it as “Bidenomics.” The vice president can be seen laughing in response.
In an insightful column published by Helen Ubiñas in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday, Burrell revealed that she had almost forgotten about the NBC News interview until friends and family who saw the ad began reaching out to inform her.
“I’m absolutely devastated,” she exclaimed.
“They have the ability to take your image and comments and manipulate them to suit their own agenda,” she expressed. “It’s truly disturbing.”
Ubiñas reached out to Restoration PAC, a political action committee that has received significant funding from billionaires Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein. The Uihleins are known supporters of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
According to spokesperson Dan Curry, “Your X feed suggests that you have a strong bias and are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Therefore, I don’t believe you require my assistance in creating a column that is already biased. Have a blessed day.”
Ubiñas also wanted to determine if the ad breaks any laws. According to a law professor she consulted, PACs have a lot of leeway to use such clips under the fair use doctrine. However, Burrell could potentially take legal action if the ad distorts her opinions. Nevertheless, pursuing such lawsuits can be a time-consuming and costly process.
