Target Files Pro-Gay Marriage Briefs With Seventh Circuit Court Of Appeals

Minneapolis-based retail giant Target today filed amicus briefs in support of the plaintiffs in same-sex marriage lawsuits against the states of Wisconsin and Indiana. The Human Rights Campaign reacts:

“Today Target joins a growing chorus of Americans and businesses that know these bans on marriage equality serve no purpose other than to harm families,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin. “Discrimination should have no place in our society, much less our laws. We are grateful to Target for speaking out and standing up for the rights of not just its LGBT employees, but Americans from across the country who deserve to be treated with fairness and equality under the law.” Target received a 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s latest Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which scores American businesses on corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

The Minneapolis Business Journal notes that today's action comes after Target remained silent during the 2012 marriage battle in its home state.

"It is our belief that everyone should be treated equally under the law, and that includes rights we believe individuals should have related to marriage," wrote Jodee Kozlak, Target's executive vice president and chief human resources officer. Target said it already offers comprehensive benefits to LGBT employees and their families. "We continue to do so today because we believe doing so is right for our team and for our business. But current laws — in places like Wisconsin and Indiana that are addressed in this brief – make it difficult to attract and retain talent," Kozlak wrote in a Target blog post. "These disparate laws also create confusing and complicated benefits challenges across multiple states."

Read the full announcement at Target's corporate site. And stand by for NOM's Dump Target boycott campaign!

Target In Hot Water Again After Donating $50K To PAC Supporting Anti-Gay Ken Cuccinelli

Many probably still remember the ensuing controversy when it was revealed in 2010 that Target Corporation donated $150,000 to a PAC that supported homophobic Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. The company subsequently revised its corporate giving policies, and even launched a series of Gay Pride shirts in an attempt to restore its gay-friendly reputation. Unfortunately, it looks as though the company will have to conduct more damage-control, since Right Wing Watch is reporting that the company "contributed $50,000 to the Republican Governors Association, which so far this year has spent nearly $3 million on behalf of [Ken] Cuccinelli’s gubernatorial campaign." Towleroad readers may remember Cuccinelli as the homophobic attorney general from Virginia with an extensive history of homophobic remarks, and who wishes to reinstate a "Crimes Against Nature Law" in the state.

It is worth noting that Target Corp. also made the same donation to the Democratic Governors Association, which is throwing its weight behind Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe. Right Wing Watch referred to the move as "equal opportunity influence-buy[ing]." Nevertheless, this indirect support of such a fiercely anti-gay candidate does call into question a previous promise by CEO Gregg Steinhafel to promote “a dialogue focused on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, including GLBT issues," or a statement made last year by the company that it is “100 percent committed to the goal of families being respected in all communities including parents who happen to be LGBT."

This year, Target Corp. scored a perfect 100 on the HRC's Corporate Equality Index, a grade that will almost certainly suffer as a result of this donation. Thus far, the retail giant has yet to release a statement or comment addressing this most recent controversial donation.