Groups opposed to the legalization of
gay marriage have criticized General Mills for speaking out against a
proposed gay marriage ban in Minnesota.
Voters in November will decide whether
to place the state's law which bans gay nuptials in the Minnesota
Constitution.
The company spoke out against the
referendum in a statement released on Thursday, a day after Ken
Powell, chairman and CEO of General Mills, expressed similar views at
a Gay Pride event.
“For decades, General Mills has
worked to create an inclusive culture for our employees. We believe
it is important for Minnesota to be viewed as inclusive and welcoming
as well. We oppose the proposed constitutional amendment because we
do not believe it is in the best interests of our employees or our
state economy,” Tom Forsythe, vice president of corporate
communications, said.
John Helmberger, chairman of Minnesota
for Marriage, the group championing the ban, said he was disappointed
“that General Mills has decided to play PC politics by pandering to
a small but powerful interest group that is bent on redefining
marriage, the core institution of society.”
“By taking this position, General
Mills is saying to Minnesotans and people all around the globe that
marriage doesn't matter to them,” said Helmberger. “Marriage is
in the interest of children, because it is society's best way to help
children experience the ideal environment where they are raised by
their mother and father. It's ironic and regrettable that a
corporation that makes billions marketing cereal to parents of
children would take the position that marriage should be redefined.”
The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage, also
criticized the company.
Brian Brown, president of NOM, said,
“General Mills makes billions marketing cereal to parents of young
children. It has now effectively declared a war on marriage with its
own customers when it tells the country that it is opposed to
preserving traditional marriage.”
The company's position, Brown
predicted, “will go down as one of the dumbest corporate PR stunts
of all time. It's ludicrous for a big corporation to intentionally
inject themselves into a divisive social issue like gay marriage.
It's particularly dumb for a corporation that makes billions selling
cereal to the very people they just opposed.”
Located in Minneapolis, General Mills
is one of the world's largest food corporations and a Fortune 500
company. Its stable of brands include favorites such as Betty
Crocker, Haagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Nature Valley, Pillsbury and
Yoplait.