Antigay group
boycotts Wells Fargo

The antigay conservative Christian group Focus on the Family says it is withdrawing its funds from Wells Fargo because of the bank's support of gay organizations. "Focus on the Family has elected to end its banking relationship with Wells Fargo, motivated primarily by the bank's ongoing efforts to advance the radical homosexual agenda," according to a statement on the group's Web site dated Thursday and attributed to Focus president and chief executive Jim Daly. "Our decision is not personal, but principled, and we trust our constituents and others will respect it."

The statement does not say how much money the group had deposited with Wells Fargo. Calls were not returned Saturday from the group's Colorado Springs headquarters to those who left messages requesting further information.

Chris Hammond, a vice president of business development for Wells Fargo, the nation's fifth largest bank in assets, said the bank provided a $50,000 grant to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. He said the bank did not, however, agree to match contributions as GLAAD had advertised and Focus criticized. "That being said, we do support many communities, and we're proud to be a diverse organization," said Hammond, acknowledging that some donations go to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender groups.

Hammond said he told Focus officials that the San Francisco-based bank contributes to many charities, "including nonprofit agencies Focus on the Family believes in." Glennda Testone, spokeswoman for GLAAD, issued a written statement saying, "Thankfully, corporate America knows that discriminating against a group of people based on who they love is not only bad for business; it's just plain wrong." Of the action by Focus, she added, "Let's just call this what it is--another attempt by an antigay group to try to intimidate companies into not supporting or doing business with gays and lesbians." (AP)