Posted on 12/16/2004 8:18:50 AM PST by missyme
Pro-family groups based in Washington, DC, and in Illinois say homosexuals are behind a new policy at Target stores that has resulted in banning Salvation Army kettle drive activities on the retail chain's premises nationwide.
The familiar Salvation Army bell ringers and their red kettles have been barred from Target stores this Christmas season, and the official reason given by the retailer has to do with its policy prohibiting all nonprofit soliciting at Target locations. However, Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute is suspicious of the company's explanation.
While it is true that Target has maintained a long-standing policy against soliciting in front of its stores, the company has, until this year, consistently made an exception for The Salvation Army. Knight questions the sudden policy change and says although Target officials claim they just want to make their "no solicitation" policy uniform, his sources indicate there may be more to the story.
"We happen to know," the CFI spokesman explains, "that the Target Corporation has been under enormous pressure from homosexual activists to dump The Salvation Army because [it] won't give domestic-partner benefits [to its employees]."
In fact, Knight says homosexual activists have been after The Salvation Army for a long time, and some groups have reportedly stooped to some fairly lowdown tactics in their effort to harm the charitable organization. "One homosexual activist group in Michigan, for example, has been distributing counterfeit one dollar bills and five dollar bills to be placed in Salvation Army kettles, accusing them of bigotry and prejudice," he says.
Also, Rick Garcia, director of the homosexual lobby group Equality Illinois, even admitted recently on WYLL's The Walsh Forum radio program that homosexual activists have pressured Target to stop supporting The Salvation Army. And Garcia also admitted in a letter he wrote opposing the Illinois Family Institute's call to boycott Target that he has long protested and even demonstrated against The Salvation Army.
Pete LaBarbera of the Illinois Family Institute (IFI) says homosexual activists like Garcia "talk a good game" about showing tolerance toward religious groups and other opponents of homosexuality. Ultimately, however, he asserts that such "homosexual humbugs" purposely demonize people of faith and pro-family organizations as bigots, haters, homophobes, and hypocrites – or, as in Garcia's letter criticizing IFI, "charlatans."
According to LaBarbera, it is this kind of activist zealotry against pro-family and religious people and against groups like the Boy Scouts of America and The Salvation Army – groups that merely seek to live out their moral beliefs – that prompts the IFI to strongly oppose misguided legislation that would codify special rights for homosexuals or criminalize expressed biblical views on homosexual behavior as hate speech.
The IFI spokesman refers, for example, to SB 3186, a bill would put "sexual orientation" directly into Illinois' human rights code. He notes that this bill could come up for a vote January 10 or 11, and therefore urges pro-family Illinois residents to call their state senator and representative to express their opposition.
LaBarbera feels it is inevitable, not only that homosexual activists will try to use "sexual orientation" laws as a basis to demand same-sex marriage rights, but that they will also seek to "criminalize Christianity – at least as it applies to homosexual behavior." In fact, he notes that something similar is already happening in Philadelphia, where 11 Christians were recently arrested during their outreach efforts at a homosexual pride festival.
Damn mo's
I SO LOVE their tolerance.
Let me not tell you what I really think.
What are they threatening Target with, them not shopping there? Like gay people ever buy at Target anyway.
Why should The Salvation Army recieve an exemption? I realize they are a good organization, but there are many good organizations out there. If there is a policy against soliciting, then it should be enforced. If they want to make exemptions, the policy should be "upon approval of Target" instead.
Duplicate here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1302665/posts
Hello...Secret Service. Hellooooooooooooo
How shocking..NOT!
It is amazing how much power less than 5% of the population has over corporate America.
In case not everyone has access the The Boston Herald. Another parent was escorted out of her child's school for taping a Gay Day symposium.
I thought they loved men in uniforms?
Why do you care who they make an exception for anyway?
It is private property..not government property!!
Somewhat true. It is actually semi-private property. However, that's not the point I'm really trying to make. If Target, or any business, has a policy they should stick to the policy. If they want to make exceptions in some cases, write your policy to allow for that. Say what you mean, and mean what you say!
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I see you are actually injecting thought and reason into this thread.
I seriously doubt the validity of this article. My wife and I normally shop at Target for Christmas. This year was the exception because of their policy.
I walk up, put money in the pot, tell them God Bless and screw Target. They smile.
I don't care who put Target up to it ... we're not shopping there. (I thought Target's prices were too high, anyway, for what they sell)
Ann
I just purchased items that I normally would have bought at Target -- they are off my list this Christmas. Walmart is making a ton of money here because they have the bell ringers out front or in the lobby if the weather is bad. I talked to one of the greeters a short time ago and he said he has heard a lot of people say they are shopping Walmart instead of Target for items that both carry. I actually got the CD's and DVD's cheaper at Walmart so it paid off in the money category as well!
Bashas Markets in Arizona have the Salvation Army in front of their stores - perhaps if you have a Bashas in your area, you would remember to shop there!
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