Target this week backed a federal bill
that seeks to ban anti-LGBT discrimination in all areas of civil
rights, joining a growing list of companies.
Introduced by Democrats in July, the
Equality Act seeks to prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination in seven key
areas, including credit, education, employment, federal funding,
housing, jury service and public accommodations, by effectively
expanding the Civil Rights Act, originally approved in 1964.
“Today, we're proud to announce
another important milestone,” Target said in a statement posted on
its website. “Target has signed on in support of the Equality
Act.”
“Target proudly stands with the LGBT
community through all that we do, from our partnerships with
organizations like HRC, to our volunteer efforts, and even the
products we sell,” said
Caroline Wanga, Target's senior director of diversity and
inclusion. “We want to be a champion for an inclusive society by
using our influence and resources to support equality in the
communities where our team members and guests live and work.”
Target joins PayPal, Intel, Symantec,
IBM, Orbitz, American Airlines, Oracle, Amazon, General Electric, HP,
Microsoft, General Mills, Google, Facebook, Nike, Apple, The Dow
Chemical Company and Levi Strauss, & Co. in supporting the bill.
Democratic presidential candidates
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Martin O'Malley and Vermont Senator Bernie
Sanders have also endorsed the Equality Act.