Target Throws it’s corporate might behind gay rights in court

                                                                                   

Target finally threw its corporate weight behind marriage equality Tuesday, with the Minneapolis-based retailer joining an amicus brief in a court case.

"We believe that everyone -- all of our team members and guests -- deserve to be treated equally," Target executive vice president Jodee Kozlak said in a statement posted on the corporate blog.

Yet in recent years, Target's official position on same-sex marriage had been a case study of mixed signals, causing the discount chain a great deal of grief.

During the heated 2012 marriage amendment fight in Minnesota, Target remained firmly on the sidelines -- and remained there in 2013 when the Legislature voted to let same-sex couples wed.

Yet for decades, Target had a reputation as a welcoming and supportive workplace for gay and lesbian employees. And it has been a large financial contributor to gay community groups in Minnesota and beyond.

While Minnesota's gay-marriage debate has come and gone, Kozlak's statement noted that it continues in other places. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit -- covering Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana -- is considering a case that finally impelled Target to take a public stand.

In part, Target offered a business case.

"Current laws -- in places like Wisconsin and Indiana that are addressed in this brief -- make it difficult to attract and retain talent," wrote Kozlak, who heads human resources for Target. "These disparate laws also create confusing and complicated benefits challenges across multiple states."

But Kozlak also hinted at a degree of corporate soul-searching as gay marriage spreads across the land. She did not mention another change: the firing of Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel, who in 2010 was criticized after Target made a $150,000 campaign contribution on behalf of an anti-gay-rights Republican, Tom Emmer.

That contribution led to consumer protests against Target, and an apology from Steinhafel. But stung by the reaction, Target instead embraced a series of wink-and-nod signals on the gay-marriage question.

In 2011, it signed an exclusive partnership with Lady Gaga to promote her gay-anthem album, "Born This Way." The singer told reporters that Target had promised to be more gay-friendly, a characterization Target disputed, and their deal quickly dissolved.

In 2012, Target ran an ad featuring two grooms. "Build a Target Wedding Gift Registry as unique as the two of you," the ad said. But Target stressed it was still neutral on the gay marriage issue.

In 2012 Target sold rainbow "Love is Love" T-shirts in its stores with proceeds going to a gay-families group, which angered religious groups supporting the marriage amendment, which would have banned same-sex marriage in the state constitution. But the amendment failed.

This week, Target decided to more direct.

"As our leadership team discussed signing on, we took time to consider the bigger questions at hand," Kozlak posted Tuesday. "This brief is important, as the issues it addresses have significant impact on business. But it is more than that and we agreed now is the right time to more directly share our views."

Tom Webb can be reached at 651-228-5428. Follow him at twitter.com/TomWebbMN.