Immensely Successful #BoycottTarget Effort Approaches One Year; Just 37,000 Signatures Needed to Hit 1.5 Million Threshold
TUPELO, Miss.—Over the past 11 months, more than 1.46 million supporters of the American Family Association’s (AFA, www.afa.net) highly successful #BoycottTarget initiative have had a goal to send a strong message to Target that its misguided and potentially dangerous bathroom policy is the reason millions of families are no longer shopping there.
That goal has been met—in a big way.
“AFA friends and supporters are dealing a crippling blow to Target over its dangerous bathroom and fitting room policy,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “The Target boycott, launched nearly a year ago, is causing a significant drop in foot traffic to stores around the country, and effects of the boycott are clear in Target’s financial reports, as the 30 percent drop in its stock value has slashed investors’ wealth by roughly $15 billion. Families have spoken and are making an unprecedented financial impact on a corporation whose policy is to allow men to use women’s restrooms and dressing rooms. Target’s decision is unacceptable for families, and its dangerous and misguided policy continues to put women and children in harm’s way.”
Wildmon added that Target remains willfully blind to the link between the boycott and its financial losses, but this blindness should not persist.
“Investors will not allow a politically correct bathroom policy based on a minority opinion to sink Target’s profits further,” he said. “Target investors must be aware that a strong majority of Americans believes the use of restrooms and dressing rooms should be linked to a person’s biological sex. We must keep the pressure on Target.”
AFA continues to ask other concerned Americans who haven’t yet signed the boycott to do so as soon as possible, before the end of April—the one-year mark since the boycott began. And it is urgent that #BoycottTarget reach 1.5 million signatures so that AFA can hand-deliver another 500,000 names to Target headquarters in Minneapolis, in hopes of helping the retailer grasp the gravity of this situation regarding danger to women and girls.
“AFA wants to discuss with executives how Target can invite 1.5 million petition signers back to its stores by offering a common-sense bathroom and dressing room policy—one that allows families to feel safe when they shop.”
On Feb. 28, Target stock value plunged by 12 percent in one day after the retailer announced disappointing 2016 fourth-quarter earnings, according to Forbes.com,
AFA is offering several ways to reach the important 1.5 million-signature threshold:
- SIGN—#BoycottTarget pledge
- SHARE—Ask family, friends and church members to sign the pledge. One effective strategy is to voice concerns politely but firmly on Target’s Facebook page and other social media sites using #BoycottTarget.
- SUPPORT—Friends can make a donation to help AFA launch a comprehensive social media ad campaign to reach more who can sign the petition.
“AFA believes that, with enough pressure, pro-family advocates can stop this insanity before more women and children become victims,” Wildmon concluded. “And, as AFA has stated many times, our worries do not stem from fear of the transgender community, but rather, from both the real and potential threat that predators and voyeurs, or anyone with evil intentions, would take advantage of the Target bathroom policy to harm women and children—and there are plenty of incidents to show that they have.”
For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or on Twitter @AmericanFamAssc. Read more about AFA.
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To interview a representative from American Family Association, contact Jen Retallick, 610-584-1096, ext. 100, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com or Deborah Hamilton, 610-584-1096, ext. 102, 215.815.7716.
