The fuss continues over Target Corp.’s donation of $150,000 to a group that aired ads supporting Republican Tom Emmer.
The Human Rights Campaign said today that it had tried to negotiate with the retail giant to make “corrective actions” after its contributions to MN Forward were used to support Emmer, who HRC calls “a vehemently anti-gay candidate closely associated with a Christian rock band that advocates death and violence to gay people.”
HRC, which says it is “the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization,” claims there were two tentative agreements with Target for what apparently was some sort of support for GLBT issues, in an attempt to smooth over the issue. But the negotiations have fallen apart.
There was no immediate public statement from Target.
So now HRC says it will “devote $150,000 of its own resources to help elect a pro-equality governor and legislature in Minnesota.”
HRC President Joe Solmonese said: “All fair-minded Americans will now rightly question Target’s commitment to equality. If their initial contribution was a slap in the face, their refusal to make it right is a punch in the gut and that’s not something that we will soon forget. However, with full marriage equality hanging in the balance in Minnesota, regardless of Target, it’s important that we as a community send a message that we will work tirelessly to elect pro-equality candidates.”
