The American
Family Association is claiming its boycott of Ford Motor Co.
for supporting gay and lesbian civil rights groups and
media is driving the company under. The AFA, which
claims to have collected 500,000 Internet pledges to
boycott Ford products, is leading the movement by
conservative Christian groups.
But addressing a recent drop in Ford's
sales, automotive industry analysts say there were
larger issues at play than the boycott, pointing to
higher gas prices, hikes in interest rates, and intense
competition among carmakers, particularly by foreign manufacturers.
Ford also downplays any effect the boycott has
had and disputes an AFA claim that the automaker will
hold an emergency meeting with dealers next week to
shore up support.
At Ford's annual meeting in June a
shareholder forced a vote to drop protections for LGBT
workers from its human resources regulations. It was
resoundingly defeated. (Sirius OutQ News)
