Cindy McCain — wife of 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain –has taken a high profile position contrary to her husband’s on the issue of same sex marriage, by starring in a new ad to support the fight against California’s Prop. 8.

The Associated Press is reporting the story tonight, saying that Mrs. McCain stars in the new ad, in which she is depicted adorned “with silver duct tape across her mouth and “NOH8″ written on one cheek.”

NOH8 is one of the army of gay rights groups which has challenged Proposition 8, the law banning same sex marriage which was passed by California voters in 2008. Currently, a federal court trial in San Francisco is underway, challenging the constitutionality of the law.

NOH8 Campaign

“In the year since we’ve started the NOH8 Campaign, we’ve often been surprised at some of the different individuals who have approached us showing their support,” organizers of the gay rights group say on their website. “Few, though, have surprised us more than Cindy McCain — the wife of Senator John McCain and mother to vocal marriage equality advocate Meghan McCain.”

“The McCains are one of the most well-known Republican families in recent history, and for Mrs. McCain to have reached out to us to offer her support truly means a lot. Although we had worked with Meghan McCain before and were aware of her own position, we’d never really thought the cause might be something her mother would get behind,” the group says. “We have a huge amount of respect for both of these women for being brave enough to make it known they support equal marriage rights for all Americans.”

AP says that Arizona Sen. John McCain’s office today “issued a statement saying the Arizona senator respects the views of members of his family but remains opposed to gay marriage.”

The former GOP presidential candidate, the statement said, believes “marriage is only defined as between one man and one woman.”