BOYCOTT WAL-MART OVER GAY AGENDA FOR 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY FREEP KAREN BURKE 1-479-273-4314

FREE REPUBLIC ^ | July 2, 2003 | the eagle has landed

[TheEaglehasLanded]

Wal-Mart Announces New Gay Policy Wednesday, 2 July 2003

SEATTLE -- Wal-Mart Stores, the nation's largest private employer, has broadened its corporate anti-bias policy to include gay and lesbian workers, the company announced Tuesday.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mona Williams said that the company implemented the changes because "It's the right thing to do for our employees. We want all of our associates to feel they are valued and treated with respect — no exceptions."

The decision was disclosed by a Seattle gay rights foundation that had invested in Wal-Mart and then lobbied the company for two years to make its discrimination policies more inclusive.

A spokeswoman told The New York Times on Tuesday that Wal-Mart had already sent out letters Tuesday to its 3,500 stores, after which store managers would explain the change to its 1.5 million employees.

Along with prodding from groups, such as the Pride Foundation, the spokeswoman said several gay employees wrote senior management about six weeks ago to say they would "continue to feel excluded" unless Wal-Mart changed its policies.

With the change announced by Wal-Mart this week, 9 of the 10 largest Fortune 500 companies now have rules barring discrimination against gay employees, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Activists will now press for DP health benefits.

The exception is the Exxon Mobil Corporation, which was created in 1999 after Exxon acquired Mobil, and then revoked a Mobil policy that provided medical benefits to partners of gay employees, as well as a policy that included sexual orientation as a category of prohibited discrimination.

Wal-Mart said it currently had no plans to extend medical benefits to domestic partners.

Though no one directly linked the company decision to the Thursday's Supreme Court ruling against the country's sodomy laws, it certainly didn't hurt.

"A major argument against equal benefits, against fair treatment of employees, has been taken away," said Kevin Cathcart of Lambda Legal. "And so even within corporations it's a very different dialogue today, a very different dialogue."

There is no federal law prohibiting discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation, but 13 states, the District of Columbia and several hundred towns, cities and counties have such legal protections in place for public and private employees.

Wal-Mart's new policy reads in part: "We affirm our commitment and pledge our support to equal opportunity employment for all qualified persons, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability or status as a veteran or sexual orientation."

[TheEaglehasLanded]

The New REGIME at WALMART spits on the founders grave, the sell mostly CHINESE GOODS, DON'T PAY THEIR EMPLOYEES WELL, AND SHOVE THE GAY AGENDA DOWN MOST OF THEIR CUSTOMERS THROATS. We need all conservatives and pro family groups to boycott WALMART over their busiest weekend of the summer. If you can continue after that fine.

It is my suspicion that later this year WALMART will stop selling guns due to a similar stockholder proposal. They caved this easily on gays, anti-gun groups are just as organized.

[bandleader]

Well,I guess the"Camel Has His Nose Under Something"Is this another aspect of"The Slippery Slope"??How many employees does Walmart employ??Is it more than"Several"???It sounds to me like somebody is RUNNING SCARED!!!!!!!!

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

I can't see the folks in NW Arkansas making this decision. Are they in danger of losing some big govt contract?

Another spineless piece of corporate America raising the white flag to the pink blitzkrieg.

[TheEaglehasLanded]

BTTT

[hole_n_one]

FREEP KAREN BURKE....

Who or what is a Karen Burke and why couldn't you have posted your rant in the thread you linked?

.....and why did you make up your own title?

....and why is the source of your article not the same as the one you posted?

[basil]

Looks like we will have to boycott 9 of the 10 largest Fortune 500's largest companies, too. Good luck!

[BCrago66]

Walmart is not the government; it is a private company. It has no power to coerse you or to set the terms of your life, or to tax you. So what strange obsession causes you to want to boycott them?

[TheEaglehasLanded]

Karen Burke is their communications director

[TheEaglehasLanded]

Because I want them to be punished for caving to the gay lobby, this is why conservatives don't win. If a company defies liberals they never stop trying to put them out of business until they get what they want.

WE on the other hand say Oh well keep buyin

[Hyacinth Bucket]

I've been boycotting Walmart for a while. They refused to remove or at least move magazines out of the checkout stands so kids wouldn't see the racy covers. They since announced just recently that they would stop carrying certain magazines.

I'm still boycotting them because it took them a year to take action and their responses were pretty smug. Also, they like to trick people that they are pro-family but really they are not when it really counted. They just want it both ways. I agree, Mr. Walton, the founder of Walmart, is probably turning in his grave.

[kuma]

Bad News. They have had this policy for some time now. My hubby works for one of the Distribution Centers. He says all questions of this nature are phrased somewhere along the line of "Are you as a Wal-Mart Associate permitted to make comments on other Associate's sexual orientation during work blah blah blah."

Good News. Recently a Catholic that my hubby works with went to management regarding harassment from fellow Associates about his religious faith and beliefs. He was told that it was up to him personally whether the offender was fired or disciplined. This means the homo-wackos cannot harass those of religious belief.

My hubby wouldn't lie about the good news for the Catholic as he is a Conservative Christian himself albiet Protestant.

[hole_n_one]

Thanks!

What about my 3 other questions?

[HairOfTheDog]

This is the most hysterical headline and post I have seen in a long time. Good grief this obsession with gays on FR in the last week is gonna drive me to distraction.

DON'T CARE!

[gcruse]

Amen. This forum needs a name change to reflect its obsession with the sex lives of others or the CCW laws in Minnesota. ;)

[Republic Rocker]

Relax..... This unrealistic ultra conservative fear is ruining everything we (as conervatives) have accomplished as of late.

Govern your own life, respect others and do not play GOD.

That is for GOD to do.

[I got the rope]

This is the most hysterical headline and post I have seen in a long time. Good grief this obsession with gays on FR in the last week is gonna drive me to distraction. DON'T CARE!

Those of us that are real conservatives care. What type of civilization will we have when it is filled with moral anarchists?

[I got the rope]

Amen. This forum needs a name change to reflect its obsession with the sex lives of others or the CCW laws in Minnesota. ;)

Homo apologist # 2.

[I got the rope]

#3?

[Ganymede]

get a life (and stay out of others')!