Let's all buy lots of Tide and Crest

[Ignoto]

Conservative groups urge P&G boycott

 

By Alexander Coolidge

Cincinnati Post staff reporter

 

Conservative Christian groups are targeting Procter & Gamble and urging consumers to boycott its Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste brands for the Cincinnati-based company's support of repealing Article 12, a Cincinnati charter amendment on gay rights.

 

Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association and Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family say they object to the consumer product giant's $10,000 donation and other support for the repeal of the 1993 amendment that bars the city council from enacting or enforcing protections to homosexuals or bisexuals. The issue will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

 

P&G responded by saying it is supporting tolerance and respect as opposed to endorsing any lifestyle or sexual orientation. The company added that Article 12 makes the region look bad and discourages prospective employees from coming to the area.

 

The company noted other businesses and the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce also support the repeal.

 

"Respect for all individuals is a key P&G value," the company said in a statement.

 

"The company believes that all people deserve protection from discrimination. We will not tolerate discrimination in any form, against anyone, for any reason."

 

The company insists its support of the repeal does not constitute an endorsement of gay marriage.

 

"While we respect your right to protest, we ask that your protest is based on facts," spokesman Doug Shelton wrote to AFA chairman and founder Donald Wildmon. "I would like to know that you are taking appropriate action to correct your communication."

 

The AFA claims P&G's support for the repeal is a tacit endorsement of gay marriage.

 

"To our knowledge, Procter & Gamble is the first company to support the political agenda of the homosexual movement," the group said on its Web site urging consumers boycott two of the company's top brands. "While not explicitly saying so, in their public announcement supporting the repeal P&G clearly showed their support for homosexual marriage."

 

AFA is no stranger to pressuring corporations. It is currently advocating boycotts of Disney for gay themes in television programming on its ABC network, providing domestic partner benefits to employees and hosting "Gay and Lesbian Day" at Disney World in Orlando. Meanwhile, Focus on Family founder and chairman James Dobson urged listeners on his radio show to join the boycott. He said the company indicates support for "the gay-activist notion" that restricting marriage to one man and one woman is discriminatory.

 

"For Procter & Gamble to align itself with radical groups committed to redefining marriage in our country is an affront to its customers," Dobson said in a transcript on his group's Web site.

 

Publication Date: 09-17-2004

[Tall Texn]

Not only should we buy Tide and Crest, but we should send labels and anything else from P&G to James Dobson.