Back To School Shopping At Target? Not!

Unfortunately it's August. Which for us means Back to School Shopping. And, which for the past 6 school years have meant going to Target.

Why Target? Why not. They always have what is on Adam's teachers lists. And then more. I heart Target. I really do. It's where his clothes come from. He loves that blue creatures with lots of eyes line of clothes. Heck, it's where most of my clothes come from. It's where I pick up those cute seasonal plates for him (well, not so much anymore, but when he was a kid he loved seasonally themed kid plates and bowls to eat from). Most of our house accessories come from Target. I planned on having a fun day shopping for new accessories there in September when our new kitchen finishes its total remolding. Need a few items from the grocery store – no need to go there, just pick them up at Target and no need to go to another store also. After our mortgage, I think Target is probably our biggest monthly expense!

But I won't be shopping at Target this year for back to school supplies. In fact, I won't be shopping at Target at all for now. It will be hard, but I'm gonna do it.

You see, I believe if you fall in love with someone, you should be able to marry them. To find someone who you share values with, good times with, makes your heart go thump, thump. To find someone you want to work out life problems with. Forever. It's so amazing when you've found that someone. It's so special when you've found that someone. I'm so grateful that I found my partner. Aren't you grateful for your partner? Shouldn't we all be allowed that same joy?

I'm not so sure Target believes this though. It has been reported that Target has donated $150,000 to Tom Emmer's campaign. He is a Republican running for Governor in Minnesota. Minnesota is where Target is headquartered.

According to The Minnesota Independent:

In 2007, Emmer authored a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage and civil unions.

In many instances, Emmer has tried to change language in bills to that same-sex couples cannot benefit. In a bill to create standards around surrogate motherhood, Emmer attempted to replace the word "parents" with the words "mother and father." In a wrongful death bill this session, Emmer questioned the use of the term "domestic partner" just as he has in bills aimed at providing benefits for same-sex partners.

Heck, here's what Tom says on his own campaign website:

I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, I have consistently supported the constitutional marriage amendment that protects traditional marriage.

So, I'm really confused. Target claims to support gay-friendly policies, including offering domestic partner benefits. However, with the money Tom's campaign received from Target, they may not be allowed to keep these benefits. Why would Target support him then?

Before writing this article I did some research. I was also surprised to find out that Best Buy also contributed ($100,000) to Tom's campaign. Um….

I mean, this probably shouldn't be a surprise. I'm sure lots of places I go to and give my money to support candidates that I may not totally agree with. But now this is out in the open. Target and Best Buy are supporting a very anti-gay candidate. In fact, he is the only candidate running for governor that does not support same-sex marriage.

Once I am aware of something I can't ignore it. And this is something I truly disagree with. I truly agree that if you fall in love, and the relationship is healthy (no abuse for example) and you want to get married, you should be able to, regardless of you and your partners gender.

And because of this, I am joining Dial M for Minky Moo and many others in boycotting Target. At least for now. People and companies can make mistakes. But mistakes can be fixed. If Target truly does support gay's rights (as I used to think they do, but am now confused about it), they can make amends. They can donate money to The Human Rights Campaign. Because The Human Rights Campaign will certainly need additional funds to help fight human rights from politicians like Tom, especially is he is elected.

While I do not know for sure who Walmart and other big chains support, I do know that Target has confused me who it supports on a value that means a lot to me, and for that reason I will be doing Adam's Back to School shopping not at Target this year. Will you be joining Minky Moo and I?

PS – The Human Rights Campaign has a button to click to take action if you are so inclined.