The attorneys general representing seven states have sent a letter to the Chairman and CEO of Target informing him of their concerns that the retailer violated child safety laws during their controversial Pride Month campaign. The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and South Carolina.
In the letter, the representatives claimed that Target had advertised “potentially harmful products to minors, related potential interference with parental authority in matters of sex and gender identity, and possible violation of fiduciary duties by the company’s directors and officers.”
The products were rolled out in mid-May after Target launched a number of LGBTQIA+ promotional items for Pride Month, many of which were aimed at babies and children. The Pride Month line included onesies, bibs, overalls, clothing, as well as girls’ swimsuits with “tuck-friendly construction” and “extra crotch coverage” for male genitalia.
In the letter, the attorneys general point to Target’s Pride Month campaign as antithetical to shareholders’ interests and the prosperity of the United States. They also mention merchandise with “anti-Christian” designs and so-called Satanic products that featured pentagrams and horned skulls.
The attorneys general accuse Target of “[foisting] contentious social or political agendas upon families and children at the expense of the company’s hard-won good will and against its best interests” to satisfy the Target Board and “left-wing activists.”
The letter went on to note that Target “provides financial support” to an organization called GLSEN, also known as the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.
GLSEN was founded in 1990 by Kevin Jennings who said the group’s goals “extend to incorporating homosexual concepts into all curriculum.” Jennings has previously stood accused of breaking Massachusetts law and condoning child molestation for failing to report a minor boy’s sexual relationship with an adult man. Instead of protecting the child, he reportedly told him “I hope you knew to use a condom.”
Jennings also received the Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership, which is named after a high school counselor and teacher who developed a program called “Project 10.” The project earned its name in honor of “sex researcher” Alfred Kinsey.
According to Reduxx co-founder Genevieve Gluck, Kinsey’s theorizing on “childhood sexuality” featured testimonies from men known to be child sexual abusers. Kinsey used information from the pedophiles as evidence to support his belief that children can “enjoy” being sexually abused by adults. His “work” influenced John Money, who pioneered the concept of “gender identity” in children. Like Kinsey, Money also believed that adult-child sex was normal and “often beneficial.”
In their letter to Target, the attorneys general accuse GLSEN of “undermining parents’ constitutional and statutory rights” for their support of “secret gender transition for kids” and their direction to public schools to withhold information that “may reveal a student’s gender identity to … parents or guardians.”
Minors transitioning at their school without the knowledge of their parents has become a flashpoint in the gender ideology debate over the past year. In a heartbreaking account reported in 2022, a teen girl from Virginia ran away from home after experiencing intense bullying at her school stemming from a newly-adopted transgender identity.
The girls’ parents later discovered that her school was secretly encouraging their daughter’s “social transition” and had been deliberately withholding information about her behavior from them.
Upon locating the girl after her disappearance, state authorities required her parents to appear in court as they were being investigated for child abuse over alleged “misgendering.” Tragically, the child was sexually abused while in state care. The family was finally reunited after a lengthy legal fight.
In coming forward with her account, the minor girl, who no longer identifies as transgender, is quoted to have said: “I don’t want it to happen to any other kids, what happened to me.”
Aside from ethical concerns, the attorneys general said that Target’s Pride campaign was “not an example of excellence in retail.” The representatives pointed to the company’s massive drop in share price and the $12 billion loss in market value Target sustained following widespread boycotts. They added: “It is likely more profitable to sell the type of Pride that enshrines the love of the United States. Target’s Pride Campaign alienates whereas Pride in our country unites.”
The collective letter also reminded Target’s CEO of the bomb threats the company received as a result of them “betraying [the] LGBTQ community,” and discouraged him from using the threats to allow activists to “promote collateral political and social agendas.”
Target has not yet responded to the letter.
