The Christian conservative group behind
a boycott against Target over its transgender bathroom policy on
Tuesday denied it is testing the policy by sending men into women's
restrooms.
“Despite false reports, AFA has not
sent anyone into Target to test their dangerous bathroom policy.
#BoycottTarget,” the American Family Association (AFA) tweeted.
“There is a false report being
circulated on Facebook and by liberal media outlets that AFA has
'encouraged men' to go into women's changing areas or bathrooms at
Target. This is completely FALSE,” Tim Wildmon, the group's
president, said in a blog post.
The AFA was spurred into action after
Target reiterated that transgender people were free to use the
bathroom and changing room of their choice in their stores.
Opponents claim that such policies can be easily abused by sexual
predators.
“Target's bathroom policy endangers
women and children by allowing a gateway for sexual predators to
enter a women's restroom,” Wildmon has previously said.
Sandy Rios, the group's director of
governmental affairs, said during a radio appearance that the AFA was
“testing” the policy.
“I think there’s no question that
when you say that there are no barriers in the bathroom,” Rios
said, “and that if men or women feel like they are men or
women, the opposition of however they are equipped, and you have no
restrictions, the net effect will be that people will not be stopped.
We’ve already had people testing this, going into Targets and men
trying to go into bathrooms. There is absolutely no barrier.”
In a USA Today op-ed, Wildmon
said that “more than 1 million people have signed the pledge to
boycott Target over this issue.”
(Related: Illinois
man arrested protesting Target's transgender bathroom policy.)