Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Update: Ford reaffirms committment to Gay community

From The Task Force:

In a statement released today, Ford reaffirmed its commitment to its progressive workplace policies, said it would place corporate advertising in LGBT publications on behalf of all of its brands, including Jaguar and Land Rover, and would continue financial support for LGBT organizations and events consistent with its business condition. In response, a broad coalition of LGBT organizations issued a statement commending Ford for its actions (the statement appears below). Visit www.media.ford.com to read Ford's statement or click here to download a pdf of the letter...

The controversy erupted on Dec. 1, 2005, when the American Family Association (AFA) officially announced it was dropping its threat of a boycott, saying Ford “heard our concerns; they are acting on our concerns. We are pleased with where we are.” The next day, a Ford spokesperson appeared to confirm an agreement by saying the company would stop advertising its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications. AFA is an extremist anti-LGBT organization that routinely threatens boycotts against LGBT-supportive companies, television programs it does not like, and even cartoon characters such as SpongeBob.

On Dec. 5, 18 leading LGBT organizations issued a statement calling upon Ford to disavow any agreement with AFA, to reaffirm its commitment to the LGBT community and to meet with the LGBT community and resolve the issue. As a result of that statement, Ford Motor executives met with LGBT community representatives, including Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman, in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 12. There, Ford said it would issue a statement based on the topics discussed, and the comprehensive statement released today was the result.

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