Target claims “unwavering support” for LGBT community

Submitted By: Fabulous Rob on July 28, 2010 No Comment

Despite a $150,000 donation to an anti-gay gubernatorial candidate, the chief executive of Target claims the company still supports the LGBT community.

As reported in the Los Angeles Times:

St. Paul, Minn. — As two “Boycott Target” groups sprang up on Facebook on Tuesday, the giant retailer defended its $150,000 donation to a group helping a Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate who opposes same-sex marriage.

Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel assured employees at the company’s Minneapolis headquarters that the retailer’s support of the gay community was “unwavering.” He said employees, some gay, had raised concerns that the money was helping state Rep. Tom Emmer, a fiery conservative and the party’s likely nominee for governor.

Target’s money went to MN Forward, which is running TV ads supporting Emmer.

The contrast between Emmer’s outspoken conservatism and Target’s moderate image is striking. Emmer lauds Arizona’s strict approach to illegal immigration and once advocated chemical castration for sex offenders. Target is known in Minnesota for donating to public school programs, food pantries and the annual Twin Cities Pride gay festival.

Monica Meyer, interim head of the gay rights group OutFront Minnesota, said that the gay community had long viewed Target as a supportive employer, and that many are surprised by the donation. The group posted an open letter urging Target to take back its money.

“A lot of people feel betrayed,” she said.

The two “Boycott Target” Facebook groups together had more than 3,000 followers by Tuesday evening. Some people posted business phone numbers for Target and Steinhafel, who individually also gave Emmer $2,000, the maximum under state law.

In an e-mail to employees, Steinhafel said Target’s political donations are intended to support business objectives such as job creation and economic growth.

He said the company doesn’t have a social agenda or necessarily agree with all of the positions of candidates it supports. “Let me be very clear,” he said, “Target’s support of the [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender] community is unwavering, and inclusiveness remains a core value of our company.”

As of Tuesday, Target was the largest donor to MN Forward, which had raised more than $1 million from industry trade groups and companies including Best Buy Co., Pentair Inc., Hubbard Broadcasting Inc., Davisco Foods International Inc. and Polaris Industries Inc.

Best Buy spokeswoman Susan Busch said the company informed employees of its $100,000 donation early Tuesday and received only a handful of phone calls about it.

Target’s headache illustrates the potential risks for businesses that seek to take advantage of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that threw out parts of a 63-year-old law that prohibited campaign donations from company funds. The ruling changed regulations in about half of the states, but the Target donation in Minnesota is among the first major new corporate moves to come to light.