Schubert, who also ran the campaign that led to the passage of Proposition 8 in California, sent out an email to potential donors last week that criticized corporations for backing “genderless marriages,” and it became Minnesota for Marriage’s most successful fund-raising message to date, he told MPR. “It’s really kind of a slap in the face to people of faith and supporters of marriage,” said Frank Schubert, campaign manager for Minnesota for Marriage, the group backing the amendment. Target has not taken an official position on the amendment, but proponents of the measure are nonetheless angry that it is marketing the T-shirts and are using the situation to marshal support for their cause. The group is part of the coalition fighting the Minnesota amendment, which will go before voters in November.
Target, based in Minneapolis, is selling T-shirts with slogans such as “Harmony,” “Pride” and “Love Is Love” online throughout June, which is Gay Pride Month, and donating 100% of the purchase price, up to a total of $120,000, to the Family Equality Council, an advocacy group for LGBT parents and their children, Minnesota Public Radio reports. Activists pushing Minnesota’s anti–marriage equality constitutional amendment are upset with retailer Target for selling T-shirts that benefit a pro-LGBT group.