The department store Target is widely recognized as gay friendly, so much so the gays even came up with a fancier way to pronounce its name. So how come the retail giant is raising cash to support a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate who’s making marriage inequality part of his campaign strategy?
Target has provided $100,000 in cash and $50,000 in services to MN Forward, a business-funded PAC that’s backing Republican Tom Emmer (pictured, left), a candidate who makes no secret of his support for “traditional” families only. And who is Emmer running against? Mark Dayton (pictured, right), the former U.S. senator and Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate, whose family just happened to create the Target store brand decades ago; he no longer has a stake in it, but remains heir to the Dayton’s Department Store fortune.
So why is Target not only gunning against its founder, but supporting an anti-gay candidate when the company itself is progressive enough to offer domestic partnership benefits to gay employees? Because, according to the store chain, it supports candidates who will “directly effect the company’s retail agenda” in a positive way. And those business interests run ahead of a candidate’s position on equal rights. (Or maybe Target just has a problem with alcoholics.)
Emmer says point blank on his website: “I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, I have consistently supported the constitutional marriage amendment that protects traditional marriage.” Moreover, the Minnesota Independent notes, “In 2007, Emmer authored a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage and civil unions. In many instances, Emmer has tried to change language in bills to that same-sex couples cannot benefit. In a bill to create standards around surrogate motherhood, Emmer attempted to replace the word ‘parents’ with the words ‘mother and father.’ In a wrongful death bill this session, Emmer questioned the use of the term ‘domestic partner’ just as he has in bills aimed at providing benefits for same-sex partners. Emmer has also been criticized for his association with Christian hard rock ministry, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide Intl., Inc., which has made incendiary statements about the morality of imprisoning and executing homosexuals. Emmer’s campaign had purchased table space at the group’s fundraiser and visited with the group on the radio and in person.”
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Dayton says if same-sex marriage legislation reaches his desk, he’ll sign it: “I unequivocally support marriage equality, meaning the right of any person to marry legally the person he or she loves.” But hHe wasn’t always so on board. In 2004 he said he didn’t “believe that society should be forced to accept what is being called gay marriage, and I think it would be harmful to, just as I think the demagoguery and dehumanization of some of the proponents of these measures is very harmful to gay and lesbian men and women, I think that forcing quote unquote gay marriage, [the] general citizenry I do not believe yet wants that or is ready to support that.”)
In the end, might anybody — any. body. — be better than exiting Gov. Tim Pawlenty?
[An earlier version of this post erroneously had comments disabled. We’ve nudged the post ahead to reintroduce it to readers unable to leave comments.]
jason
Gosh maybe, just maybe, not everything is always about the gays
dfrw
Gosh, maybe I just won’t spend any more there until Target asks for the donation back. It would have been better if Target had donated nothing to either candidate. As for Emmer, there’s no way in hell that I would ever vote for him even if I were a Republican (which I am not).
Peter
@jason:
It’s a matter of personal dignity. Most gay people selfishly don’t get it.
Shallow HAL
Unfortunately in america you have to make a choice when you vote for the major parties, that you have to either restrict your social freedoms and retain your economic freedoms or retain your social freedoms and restrict your economic freedoms.
Steve No Beave
I sent an email to Emmer’s campaign explaining to Mr. Emmer that this is a good political learning experience for him. We, the gay community, are NOT dissing “free speech” as he so lamely tried to defend himself, we are choosing to refrain from doing business with companies who support the election of bigots. And, I plainly told him “you are a bigot”. I encourage others to email his campaign with your own thoughts about his comments.
I AM NOT GAY
STOP PISSING THE GAYS, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXIST AND RIGHT TO LIVE LIFE HAPPY, I DON’T, HEAR GAY PARTNERS KILLING THEIR CHILD, UNLIKE STRAIGHT COUPLES. STOP BEING SUPERFICIAL PEOPLE, I AM A CATHOLIC BUT I DON’T, THINK GOD IS that PERFECT EITHER. IF HE IS, THEN WHY ARE WE DEALING THESE ISSUES RIGHT NOW? STOP BEING HYPOCRITE, WE ARE NOT PERFECT. LEARN HOW TO ACCEPT. I AM A CONSERVATIVE AND I LEARNED HOW TO BE OPEN MINDED. BUT BOTTOM LINED, I SUPPORT TARGET AND WE MUST UNITE TO DESTROY GEORGE SOROS AND HIS PUPPET MOVE-ON.ORG. I’M NOT A TARGET SHOPPER BEFORE DUE TO THE FACT IT’S PRICEY BUT WITH A LITTLE RESEARCH that I FOUND OUT TARGET IS A COMPANY THAT SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS AND THAT CHANGE MY MIND AND FROM NOW OWN I WILL START SHOPPING AT TARGET IT’S A MONEY WELL SPENT.
AND NO! CONSERVATIVES ARE NOT RACIST, WE SUPPORT LEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND NOT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. LIKE IT OR NOT!!! I’M AN IMMIGRANT MYSELF AND I DID, FOLLOW WHAT THIS COUNTRY REQUIRES ME TO BE LEGAL.
BRANDING SOMEONE A RACIST JUST BECAUSE HE / SHE DISAGREE WITH YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS IS A LAZY ARGUMENT AND IGNORANT. THIS COUNTRY IS FALLING TO THE HANDS OF LEECHES AND PARASITES. IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP. WE DON’T, NEED OBAMA CARE, WE NEED JOBS. I DON’T, THINK YOU WILL SURVIVE ALONE WITH JUST PRESCRIPTION IN YOUR DINNER TABLE. WE NEED JOBS SO WE CAN EAT AS WELL, I’D RATHER HAVE A JOB.
SO THIS COMING NOVEMBER DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS AND INDEPENDENT BE SMART REMOVE THE CANCER IN THE SENATE, CONGRESS AND IN YOUR STATE.
Standup4morals
Gay activists would like Target to believe they are the majority, but they are not! Most of America still supports traditional values and morals as witnessed by the many States that have voted against redefining “Marriage”. Do not let MoveOn, HRC, or other leftist groups corrupt your thinking. Continue to resist their bullying and you will be rewarded by the majority when they shop. Thank you for standing up for your morals and your freedom! We support you. I think I’ll go shopping at Target now.