HRC: Target won’t donate to pro-gay candidates, so we will

Graphic for HRC's campaign

Last week we reported that sources close to talks between Target and LGBT groups said that a deal had been struck that would see Target donating $150,000 — the same amount it contributed to MN Forward, the PAC that’s supporting antigay GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer — to a candidate who supports equality for gays and lesbians. In a release this afternoon, the Human Rights Campaign notes that there were two such deals, but none of them worked out. And since Target’s not donating to pro-gay candidates, it says it will.

Target informed HRC, the release states, that it “will take no corrective actions to repair the harm that it caused by contributing $150,000 to an organization supporting a vehemently anti-gay candidate closely associated with a Christian rock band that advocates death and violence to gay people,” a reference to MnIndy’s reporting on Bradlee Dean, head of You Can Run But You Cannot Hide.

In response the campaign announced it’ll donate $150,000 “to help elect a pro-equality governor and legislature in Minnesota,” noting that the next governor will likely have the power to sign a gay marriage bill into law — or veto it.

The group says it will keep pressure on Target and Best Buy, which also donated to MN Forward, but it offered praise for the corporations’ policies toward LGBT employees:

“Target and Best Buy have – and no doubt will continue to have – model employment policies for LGBT people. We will continue to support those efforts. But before they can regain that exalted status among their consumers, they need to make things right in Minnesota,” said [HRC President Joe] Solmonese. “The nation’s LGBT community has shown these two companies enormous customer loyalty. Now it’s time for that faithfulness to be returned.”

Meanwhile, boycotts of Target, backed by HRC, MoveOn.org and other progressive groups continue. But some are more active in their resistance, like this musical flash mob at a Target store: