Anti-gay AFA Claims Growing Boycott of Home Depot

TUPELO, Miss.—Christian hate group American Family Association is claiming that half a million people have pledged to boycott home building retailer Home Depot over its corporate support of the gay community. The AFA, which mislabels itself a “pro-family advocacy organization,” issued an announcement Monday in which its president, Tim Wildmon, was unabashed in his threat against Home Depot. “The Home Depot has said it is committed to advancing homosexuality in the public square and will continue to do so, even if it goes against good business practices,” he said. The “public square” he refers to is no doubt Home Depot’s consistent sponsorship of “multiple gay pride parades and festivals by sending representatives and employees as participants in the events.” The support for these events seems especially galling to AFA, which apparently wants gay people to remain tucked away, out of sight, and even maintains a page on its website devoted exclusively to Home Depot, which it implies has only itself to blame for failing to “remain neutral in the culture war.” Instead, it claims, “The Home Depot has chosen to sponsor and participate in numerous gay pride parades and festivals. Most grievous is The Home Depot's deliberately exposing small children to lascivious displays of sexual conduct by homosexuals and cross-dressers, which are a common occurrence at these events.” At the heart of AFA’s problem with Home Depot—besides the organization’s knee-jerk hatred for anything gay—is the fact that the company “has thrown its support behind homosexual marriage and the agenda of many gay activist groups to redefine ‘family.’” The support Home Depot provides for the groups that participate in “open displays of homosexual activism on main streets in America's towns” provides the nexus for the AFA’s justification of its vicious attacks on the retailer. “The goal of every homosexual organization supported by The Home Depot is to get homosexual marriage legalized,” states AFA. “The information below provides just a glimpse of how broad The Home Depot's support for the homosexual movement is.” The site then lists the following reasons for its boycott: - In June 2010, The Home Depot set up a "Kids Workshop" as a vendor at the several homosexual festivals and parades.  - In 2009, The Home Depot gave over $5,000 to be a major sponsor of the Nashville Gay Pride Festival. It also sponsored parades in Atlanta, Kansas City, Portland and San Diego. Read more (at WorldnetDaily) - The Home Depot offers insurance benefits that cover sex-changes operations for employees. That insurance also extends to same-sex partners of homosexual employees, proving The Home Depot considers gay couples as "married." Source: Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index  - In 2008, The Home Depot sponsored the Durham Pride Weekend with a kid's workshop and parade march. The events include "massages for couples" and "Drag Shows." - As early as 2005, The Home Depot placed a full-page ad in the Out & Equal homosexual workplace conference program guide. Note the reference to extending insurance coverage to partners of gay employees, and the subsequent extrapolation of that fact to an unsupported assertion that it proves Home Depot considers those couples married. What it really reveals is the AFA’s utter contempt for gay couples and its own apparent belief that same-sex partners should not be allowed to receive insurance benefits. The Home Depot is just one target groups like the AFA have in their crosshairs as the battle over the definition of marriage heats up. Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder issued a statement that said the administration has concluded that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional and will no longer defend the statute in court. “After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny,” the statement read. “The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.” Photo: AFA president Tim Wildmon, with a sword