Target Pushes LGBT Pride Campaign

Target has recently resuscitated its LGBT pride campaign, which has prompted critics of the retailer’s policies to argue that the company has learned nothing from the nationwide backlash spurred by its aggressive promotion of LGBT activism.

T-shirts and other items with words such as love, equality and pride are nothing new at Target, but the profit-losing retailer is again pushing a #TakePride hashtag advertising campaign on social media to promote its rainbow-theme pro-LGBT merchandise.

“I would think Target would have learned their lesson about participating in aggressive LGBT activism from the backlash they received from their open bathroom policy last year, yet they seem not to have learned that lesson,” expressed Peter Sprigg, who serves as senior fellow for policy studies with Family Research Council (FRC). “They don’t understand that those people who signed up to boycott Target are not going to be any happier with the Take Pride merchandise that they’re offering.”

American Family Association (AFA) is among the organizations boycotting Target over the bathroom and changing policy. AFA maintains that it is not about transgenders, but rather perverts taking advantage and preying on women and children.

Walker Wildmon, who serves as assistant to the president at AFA, just recently announced that 1.5 million signatures have been collected for its petition against Target.

“It just shows that Target is more into social engineering than they are into selling clothes and tennis shoes – which is a travesty – and it’s honestly hurting Target’s bottom line,” stressed Wildmon about the #TakePride campaign. “Target lets you know where they stand by where they spend their money – their corporate money – and which agendas they promote.”

Robert Kuykendall of 2nd Vote has been tracking Target’s activities and promotions. His organization actually has a Target database on its website.

“Target is a corporate sponsor of the Human Rights Campaign, which has taken a liberal position on just about every issue,” Kuykendall explained. “Target also sponsors the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and is a corporate partner for GLAAD [the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation]. All these organizations that really are the advocacy arms of the liberal LGBT movement.”

Agreeing with Sprigg, Walker Wildmon and Robert Kuykendall insist that Target has not learned anything from the fallout since announcing in a blog post that transgender customers and employees can use the bathroom and changing room of the gender in which they say they identify. Sprigg insists that he is not about pushing his views on anyone.

“We’re not asking them to go out and oppose same-sex ‘marriage’ and, you know, raise money for the North Carolina bathroom bill or the Texas bill – or anything like that,” Sprigg assured. “We would be perfectly satisfied if they would just remain neutral on these culture war issues. Unfortunately, they seem determined to take the side of the two or three percent who fall into these categories.”

AFA plans to meet with Target executives later this month to deliver the latest batch of signatures on the “Boycott Target” petition. Both camps met in 2016 after AFA’s petition reached 1 million signatures.

Meanwhile, Kuydendall and 2nd Vote are still keeping tabs on Target.

“Target is one of the most liberal companies in the country, and they’ve taken liberal positions on the issues of marriage, on religious liberty and several other issues like the 2nd Amendment and the environment – based on the organizations that they support with the dollars that shoppers spend there in the first place,” Kuykendall pointed out.

Target has never responded to OneNewsNow’s requests for comment.