Politics from the Palouse to Puget Sound

Friday, November 30, 2007

Wal-Mart: Low Prices, High Standards, and a million dollar contribution

If the Human Rights Campaign is complaining about Wal-Mart, then the retail giant must finally be doing something right. After an on-again, off-again relationship with the homosexual lobby, Wal-Mart has decided to set its family-friendly record straight. This summer, after thousands of customer complaints, the company chose not to renew its membership in the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. More recently, executives announced that they won't offer domestic partner benefits to employees or grant special rights to transgenders. As a result, HRC says that the company's rating on its gay-friendly index experienced a record drop--from 65% to 40% in one year.

Last year Wal-Mart:

  • Ended corporate contributions to national homosexual activist groups;
  • Resisted pressure to treat homosexual partners the same way as married couples for purposes of giving employee benefits;
  • Did not censor the word "Christmas" in marketing materials during the Christmas shopping season;
  • Supported the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign by allowing their bell ringers to solicit contributions on Wal-Mart property--and for throwing a $1 million dollar donation in the kettle to kick it off!

The above from FRC.ORG

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