Let ‘em shop somewhere else

Ooh – Christian conservatives are urging a boycott of Target:

For decades, Salvation Army volunteers, ringing bells as they stand beside bright red kettles, have been a holiday fixture outside stores nationwide. This year, Target stores have banned them, and religious groups representing millions of evangelical Christians are calling for a boycott to protest the decision.

Target said it is trying to be fair to other charities by ending the exception from its nonsolicitation policy for the Salvation Army.

The Christian groups said they believe that the Minneapolis-based retailer has bowed to pressure from gay-rights groups that are upset with the Salvation Army’s refusal to offer benefits to employees’ domestic partners.

The boycott “puts us in a weird position,” said Maj. George Hood, a spokesman for the Alexandria, Va.-based Salvation Army.

Although nearly one-tenth of the $90 million the Salvation Army received last year during its holiday appeal came from kettles at Target stores and although it is an evangelical Christian organization, Hood said, it does not support the boycott.

“We do not want to be the facilitator or be the source of any boycotts of Target or any negative assault against Target,” Hood said. “They’ve made a business decision that we have to respect and move on.”

But such groups as Concerned Women for America, the American Family Association, the Christian Defense Coalition and the National Clergy Council have taken up the cause and are calling on their members to abstain from shopping at Target this Christmas season.

Let me go on the record as saying that even though I don’t like the evangelical aspects of the Salvation Army — I mean, it’s right there in the organization’s name — and I certainly wouldn’t want the federal government endorsing them, I nonetheless have no problem with them raising money on private property like a Target store. I also don’t have any problem with a private company like Target restricting their fundraising activities on said private property.
That said, I really hope that the so-called “Christian” hate groups like CWA do boycott Target. It would be so nice to shop there once those bigots are all over at Wal-Mart instead.