The retail giant Target said Monday that it will not respond to appeals to give money to gay-friendly causes as a way to quell the controversy over its $150,000 donation to support a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate who opposes same-sex marriage, reports the Associated Press.
The advocacy group Human Rights Campaign said it had been in talks with the chain, headquartered in Minneapolis, to donate to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues in Minnesota amid protests and boycott threats over its contribution to a group that supports the Republican candidate Tom Emmer.
In a statement, Target said it was “best to wait” before taking further action on the controversy. “We believe that it is impossible to avoid turning any further actions into a political issue and will use the benefit of time to make thoughtful, careful decisions on how best to move forward,” the company said.
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4 Responses to Retail Chain Under Fire From Gay Groups Over Political Donation
jameyc - August 18, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Ahhhh…I get it now. So free speech (and expression) is really only for liberals, right?
brausa - August 18, 2010 at 3:28 pm
jameyc: how does your comment relate to this news story?
cliffm99wa - August 18, 2010 at 5:40 pm
This story is out of control. First: Target didn’t directly support the candidate, but it gave the big bucks to a business group called MN Forward that supports candidates from the GOP and from the DFL (the Dems in Minnesota). Target’s CEO has admitted this was a mistake, and while I think Target need to do more than an apology, the company is well known for supporting gay causes (see the AP story). Further in Target’s defense, for years, it has committed to donating 5% of its profits in cash to nonprofits, which puts it way ahead of most of corporate America in one important measure of social responsibility.What is perhaps more surprising is that Target’s donation is helping MN Forward try to defeat Dem (DFL) gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton. He’s the GRANDSON of Target’s FOUNDER! You can look it up, on Wikipedia, etc.
stewartk - August 19, 2010 at 1:57 am
Why are we reducing our freedom of speech rights to “tit for tat” politics? I see no reason why Target should be compelled to donate to gay causes just because Target made a contribution to a political group that supports this Republican candidate. If this other poster is correct, the group they donated to gives money to both Republican and Democrat candidates who either support or do not support SSM. Seems pretty even-handed to me. But Target is a business. I patronize businesses who have contributed to candidates that I do not support, and candidates who have different ideologies than me. That’s life. Deal with it.