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Target Boycott: More Than 800K Pledge To Boycott Retail Store Over Transgender Bathroom Policy

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 01:51 PST, Apr 27, 2016

More than 800,000 people have signed a pledge to boycott Target after they released their stance on transgender restrooms last week.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, Target released a statement on their website on Tuesday, April 19, explaining that they were “continuing to stand for inclusivity,” and would allow their employees and customers to use whichever bathroom or fitting room that corresponds to their gender identity.

“Inclusivity is a core belief at Target. It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.”

“We believe that everyone—every team member, every guest, and every community—deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally. Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination.”

The American Family Association, a Christian conservative group founded by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, called for a Target boycott after the retail giant said they would allow men to enter women’s restrooms and dressing rooms.

“Target’s policy is exactly how sexual predators get access to their victims,” AFA wrote on their website. “And with Target publicly boasting that men can enter women’s bathrooms, where do you think predators are going to go?”

“Clearly, Target’s dangerous new policy poses a danger to wives and daughters,” the group added. “We think many customers will agree. And we think the average Target customer is willing to pledge to boycott Target stores until it makes protecting women and children a priority.”

So far, more than 800,000 people have signed the pledge to boycott Target and shop elsewhere until their policy is changed. The solution offered by AFA is to have separate restroom and dressing rooms for men and women, but have a single occupancy unisex restroom for those people in the transgender community that want to use the restroom alone.

The amount of pledges made since Wednesday, April 20, to boycott Target has been tremendous, making it one of the AFA’s most popular campaigns. AFA President Tim Wildmon spoke about the popularity of the campaign, and what the group hopes to achieve by issuing the boycott.

“This is the best response we’ve ever had this quick,” Wildmon said. “Everybody knows who Target is, and it’s an easy-to-understand issue.”

Although Wildmon said Target stands to lose a lot of their customers, the retail store is standing by their decision to allow those in the transgender community to use the restroom of their choosing.

“We certainly respect that there are a wide variety of perspectives and opinions,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder explained, according to USA Today. “As a company that firmly stands behind what it means to offer our team an inclusive place to work — and our guests an inclusive place to shop — we continue to believe that this is the right thing for Target.”

Snyder added that the majority of Target stores offer their customers a “single-stall, family [restroom] for those who may be more comfortable with that option.”

[Image by artzenter/Shutterstock.com]

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