Target's Tom Emmer Not Interested in Fighting Anti-Gay Bullying

The summer of Target's anti-gay political controversycontinues. Earlier this summer, word broke out that Target contributed $150,000 to a candidate running for governor in Minnesota, Tom Emmer, who holds some particularly flagrant anti-gay beliefs. Emmer's platform includes banning gay marriage, and as a state legislator, he tried to ban gays and lesbians from being parents. He has also financially supported a religious ministry in Minnesota that believes it's moral to commit acts of violence against gays and lesbians.

But in a debate this week (h/t the Minnesota Independent), Tom Emmer waxed on about the subject of bullying. And while he noted that as the father of seven children he empathizes with what students go through in the classroom, Emmer said that if anti-bullying legislation were to make its way to his desk as governor, he would veto the bill. Why? Because he's worried that such legislation could legitimate homosexuality.

This is infuriating on a number of levels for activists, especially given the fact that one school district in Minnesota has seen three suicides in the past year by gay and lesbian students, all of whom took their lives because they felt unsafe at school and felt they couldn't escape the persecution they faced from bullies. To say that Tom Emmer is being obtuse with his response is accurate. To say that he's failing to understand that there's a suicide epidemic in his own backyard is even closer to the truth.

"It’s up to the parents," Emmer said during a gubernatorial debate, suggesting that the state doesn't have a role to play in making sure that schools are safe for students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

If it's any consolation, as the Minnesota Independent notes, Emmer's answer was met with a chorus of boos and hollers. His opponents, Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate Mark Dayton and Independent candidate Tom Horner both said they'd support anti-bullying legislation as a proactive measure toward making kids safe.

There are many people who think that Target is paying an unfair price for supporting Tom Emmer in this election. After all, Target wasn't doing anything illegal, and as a company with good corporate policies regarding LGBT rights, they treat their LGBT employees well.

But the fact remains that with their $150,000, which they gave in support of Emmer's economic policies, they bought his whole kit-and-kaboodle of a platform. That includes his position that marriage is only reserved for straight people. His position that gays and lesbians make shoddy parents. And now, his position that the state of Minnesota has no vested interest in keeping kids safe in schools.

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