AFA's Boycott of Target Falling on Deaf Ears
Bill Berkowitz printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Sat May 14, 2016 at 11:31:40 AM EST
The American Family Association's boycott of Target stores, over its transgender-friendly bathroom policy, has reached its second or maybe third stage. On Wednesday, May 11, Tim Wildmon, the president of the AFA, made a pilgrimage to Target headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and delivered what he claimed were more than one million signatures pledged to boycott Target. Company officials politely, but firmly, rebuffed Wildmon.

According to the Huffington Post, Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC's Squawk Box that, "We took a stance, and were going to continue to embrace our belief of diversity and inclusion and just how important that is to our company."

Cornell also stated that "the vast majority of our stores have a family restroom" (1,400 of 1,800 nationwide) and that the company plans on implementing family restrooms in the rest of its stores over the next few months."

As The Daily Beast's Samantha Allen pointed out in late April, "there is no evidence that transgender people are a danger in restrooms, not that anti-transgender legislation protects the safety of women and children."

Nevertheless, in an email to AFA supporters the day after his visit to Target's headquarters, Wildmon pledged to dig his heels in and gather even more signatures pledging to boycott:

"Target's dangerous dressing and bathroom policy poses a