Target, the Minnesotan mega-chain that brings designer style to the masses through its collaborations (including one announced this morning with William Rast) is in the midst of a donation controversy. The company gave $150,000 to MN Forward, an independent expenditure committee. The Target money amounted to about a third of MN Forward's donations, which was used to buy television ads for Republican Gubernatorial candidate, Tom Emmer. Unfortunately, Emmer writes on his website that he believes "marriage is the union between one man and one woman" and that he has "consistently supported the constitutional marriage amendment that protects traditional marriage." Though Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel said the donation was motivated by MN Forward's focus on supporting candidates who "seek to advance policies aligned with our business objectives," it seems foolish that a corporation as large as Target could justify cherry-picking the issues a candidate supports.
More than 12,000 people have joined a Facebook group encouraging consumers to "boycott Target until they cease funding anti-gay politics". A Target shopper who has a gay son has posted a video on YouTube where she buys gay symbols at Target and then returns the items in protest, cutting up her Target credit card in the process.