News
2005-12-07
Activists call on
Ford to come clean
After the
automaker pulled its ads in the gay media under pressure
from an antigay group, national advocates call on
Ford to
Even
though Ford Motor Co. pulled much of its advertising
from gay publications only about a week after the
Tupelo, Miss.–based American Family Association
canceled a proposed boycott, the nation's second
largest automaker denied it made the decision under pressure
from the antigay Christian group. But that was not
enough for a group of national gay rights
organizations, which issued a joint statement calling
on Ford to come clean about what happened.
“We are
deeply dismayed by reports in the media and otherwise that
the Ford Motor Co. has entered into a confidential
agreement with the extremist American Family
Association that requires Ford to stop advertising in
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender media," the
statement, issued by 17 of the nation's biggest gay rights
groups, said. "If there is an agreement with AFA, we
expect Ford to disavow it. We expect Ford to
publicly reaffirm its historic support for our
community. And we expect Ford to meet with LGBT
representatives this week to resolve these
concerns.”
Meanwhile, the
AFA was claiming victory over the carmaker, whose brands
have appeared in The Advocate, among other LGBT
magazines, and whose corporate donations have included a
number of gay rights causes. "We are ending the
boycott of Ford," AFA chairman Donald Wildmon said on
the group's Web site. "While we still have a few
differences with Ford, we feel that our concerns are being
addressed in good faith and will continue to be addressed in
the future."
Ford has stated
that its pulling of the ads was motivated by a budget
crunch and had nothing to do with the AFA's threatened
boycott. It said it would continue to advertise its
Volvo car brand in the gay media. (Advocate.com)
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