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(Washington) The conservative America Family
Association has ended a 9-year boycott of the Walt Disney Co.
The AFA launched the boycott in 1996 when the
company began giving benefits
to the domestic partners of gay employees. It denounced Disney for Gay
Days at DisneyWorld in Orlando and a similar event at Disneyland in California
and attacked the company for gay positive films - especially from its Miramax
division.
AFA also accused Disney CEO Michael Eisner of
pushing the "gay agenda".
"He was involved in a media group that actively promoted the homosexual
agenda,'' AFA president Tim Wildmon said. "He was in your face.''
Wildmon says that with Eisner's announced
departure from Disney contributed to AFA's decision to end the boycott.
"We feel after nine years of boycotting
Disney we have made our point," Wildmon said in a statement on the AFA
website. "Boycotts have always been a last resort for us at AFA, and
Disney’s attitude, arrogance and embrace of the homosexual lifestyle gave us
no choice but to advocate a boycott of the company these last few years."
He also said that the company had "made an effort to clean up
its act in the last couple of years," but that AFA will continue to monitor Disney and would reissue a boycott
declaration "if the company's positions again warrant such action."
Earlier this spring Disney's ABC television
network accepted commercials for another conservative group, Focus on the
Family, that touted "family values". The same network rejected
an ad by the United Church of Christ that promoted its inclusive policy of accepting
gays into its membership.
This is the second major boycott which AFA has
ended. Last month it announced victory over giant consumer products company
Proctor & Gamble. (story)
The P&G boycott stemmed from the company's
support for the repeal of an anti-gay law in Cincinnati, where its world
headquarters are located, and from its LGBT-positive advertising.
According to AFA, P&G had spent over $8.2
million in only six months last year to advertise on “Will and Grace” and $2
million for spots on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”
As a result of the boycott most of
that advertising was cancelled according to the AFA - an assertion denied by
P&G.
But, while it has ended two
boycotts, the AFA earlier this month turned its attention to Kraft foods (story)
after the company announced it would sponsor the Gay Games scheduled for Chicago
in 2006.
Despite threats against Kraft the
company reaffirmed its commitment to the Gay Games this week, Gay Games co-vice chair
Kevin Boyer tells 365Gay.com
The AFA has a long history of opposing LGBT civil
rights. It is a leading supporter of the Federal Marriage Amendment to ban
same-sex marriage and helped pass amendments to bar gay marriage in 11 states
last November.
In January, it declared popular cartoon character
SpongeBob SquarePants to be gay. AFA was angry that the character was used in a
video for schools aimed at combating discrimination.
©365Gay.com 2005
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