Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Q Toon: Target ♥s Tom Emmer


LGBT rights groups are dismayed by political donations made by Target corporation (and also Best Buy) to a Minnesota business PAC called MnForward, which supports antigay Republican candidate for the state's governor, Tom Emmer. Target (and Best Buy) have had 100% positive ratings from the Human Rights Campaign for LGBT-friendly workplace policies, but Emmer is on record as opposing not only marriage rights for same-sex couples, but also Civil Unions, Domestic Partnerships, and anything else more intimate than Total Stranger relationships.

Target has responded to the criticism of their donation to MnForward by saying that they reserve the right to support any candidate whose vision for Minnesota they consider to be business-oriented. HRC has responded with an ad of its own:



"[Y]ou have severely damaged those carefully cultivated reputations and violated the spirit of the gold standards bestowed on you. In fact, the long-term effects on families that shop at Target and Best Buy throughout Minnesota and the U.S. will be devastating."
--HRC newspaper advertisement, August 1, 2010

It's not just Tom Emmer's anti-marriage policies that raise concern. Emmer's campaign has also donated $250 to "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide," a so-called Christian punk rock group that advocates killing homosexuals:
“Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America. This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination... If America won’t enforce the laws, God will raise up a foreign enemy to do just that.”
--YCRBYCH front man Bradlee Dean, on their AM radio show, May 15, 2010.

Emmer, who has appeared on Dean's radio show, visited Dean's home, and attended a meet-and-greet fund raiser for the group, has at least disavowed their Death to Gays stance; but he claims that the band are "nice people."

Apparently, Emmer has a much more flexible definition of Minnesota Nice than I had when I was at St. Olaf.

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