News
2005-10-25
Obama rails
against boycott of "pro-lesbian" doll maker
Attempts to
boycott a doll maker over its backing of a
"pro-lesbian" girls group that also supports abortion rights
Attempts to
boycott a doll maker over its backing of a
"pro-lesbian" girls group that also supports abortion rights
are "silly" and an "overreaction," U.S. senator
Barack Obama said Monday. The Democrat from Illinois
spoke at a luncheon for Girls Inc., which has drawn
fire this month from conservatives.
At issue is Girls
Inc.'s involvement with American Girl, a manufacturer
of popular dolls and children's books. The company is
donating proceeds from sales of a special
wristband—which reads "I Can"—to support
the programs of Girls Inc. "This is a classic example of
overreaction and a lack of proportion," Obama said at
a news conference before his Omaha speech. "I think
it's silly."
Earlier this
month the antigay American Family Association announced it
was boycotting American Girl unless the manufacturer stopped
contributing to Girls Inc. Obama said that typically
it's the Left that's accused of being overly sensitive
but in this case that can be said of conservatives.
Obama, who has
two daughters, 7 and 4, said both sides of the controversy
should work together to improve the lives of girls growing
up in America. "We've got to agree how to invest in
our children and expose them to the real world and
talk to them about the challenges they are going to
face," he said.
Last Friday,
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, in papers she submitted
to the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she had served on an
advisory committee for Girls Inc. in 1987 in Dallas.
But the family association has said Miers's
involvement with Girls Inc. does not factor into her
current status as a nominee, though the group, based in
Mississippi, has neither endorsed nor opposed her
nomination.
Girls Inc. serves
about 800,000 girls a year, many of them black or
Hispanic and most from low-income families. (AP)
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 1