American Family Association: Steer Clear of Target for Back-to-School Shopping; Headlines Highlight Predator Danger

TUPELO, Miss.—As back-to-school shopping season nears, American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) is asking families to stay far away from Target stores—and to warn their friends about the danger Target’s restroom and fitting room policy poses for women and children.

This spring, Target announced on its website that “[W]e welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. … Everyone deserves to feel like they belong.”

“For months, the American Family Association has worked hard to remind families that Target’s policy means that a man can simply say he ‘feels like a woman today’ and enter the women’s restroom, even if young girls or women are already present,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “Target’s policy is exactly how sexual predators get access to their victims. And headlines this summer have proven this is the case. Target’s lack of action on this issue has proven that its main concern is not the safety of customers, but rather, political correctness.”

AFA’s immensely successful #BoycottTarget pledge has garnered nearly 1.4 million signatures, and since the boycott began, AFA has shared multiple examples of why Target’s policy is dangerous through Action Alerts to its one million-plus friends and supporters. Visit AFA’s Target page for examples of these frightening incidents.

Target is dependent on a large back-to-school sales season, adds AFA. Those who spend their money elsewhere will send a strong message to Target that the bathroom policy is bad for business. AFA is encouraging shoppers to research their back-to-school shopping stores by visiting the Screen It Clean It website, which provides information on publicly traded companies regarding their positions on family issues. After providing an email address, visitors to the site can obtain a report of the violations, products and subsidiaries, if available.

AFA is asking shoppers to take action in several ways:

• Sign the #BoycottTarget pledge. Encourage family and friends to sign the pledge, too.
• Print AFA’s “pass-along sheet” to share with family, friends, neighbors and others.
• Share the boycott information on social media and be sure to use #BoycottTarget.
• Voice concerns on Target’s Facebook page.
• Visit afa.net/target for more tools and information on the #BoycottTarget initiative.

According to LifeSiteNews, since announcing the policy, Target’s stock has plummeted. AFA, along with other concerned Americans, awaits Target’s second-quarter report, expected in mid-August.

In May, AFA hand-delivered one million petition signatures to Target headquarters in Minneapolis, after which AFA leadership briefly met with Target senior management about the bathroom policy. Target executives reported that the company would not change the policy but would install private-stall family restrooms in stores not already equipped with them. This summer, it is AFA’s goal to deliver another one million signatures to Target headquarters.