Opponents of gay marriage are speaking
out against Target selling a line of Gay Pride shirts.
Sales from the shirts, which are being
sold on the retailer's website, support the Washington D.C.-based
Family Equality Council, which supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender families.
One shirt includes a graphic of a pair
of rainbow-colored sunglasses. Another crew shirt, part of Gwen
Stefani's clothing line Harajuku Mini, includes a rainbow along with
the words “Love is Love” in a comment bubble. All styles cost $12.99 each.
The Minnesota-based Target is coming
under attack from supporters of a proposed amendment to the Minnesota
Constitution which would define marriage as a heterosexual union,
despite the fact that the company has remained neutral on the issue.
“It's really a kind of slap in the
face to people of faith and supporters of marriage,” Frank
Schubert, campaign manager for Minnesota for Marriage, told Minnesota
Public Radio. Opponents of gay marriage “constitute a large
majority of people in Minnesota and an overwhelming majority of
Target's customers.”
Schubert claimed that Target had
“intentionally injected themselves into the marriage campaign.”
“People are upset about it, and
they're responding, and we encourage people to let Target know that
they're upset,” he said. “It was a stupid move on their part and
we're going to hold them to account for it.”
In a statement, Target said the company
“supports exclusivity and diversity in every aspect of our business
and has a long history of supporting the LGBT community through
giving, volunteerism and event sponsorship and participation.”
“Target is pleased to be able to
bring our guests products they want while, in turn, helping support
the LGBT community through the donation of 100 percent of the
purchase price to the Family Equality Council.”