In Nonsensical Letter, Republican AGs Suggest Target’s Pride Merch Might Have Been Illegal

Pride month may be over, but conservative attacks on rainbow capitalism continue. Apparently, it wasn’t enough that homophobic harassment led Target to remove Pride month merch. Now, seven Republican Attorneys General have signed an open letter to Target, declaring the company’s Pride merch to be “potentially harmful products to minors, related potential interference with parental authority in matters of sex and gender identity, and possible violation of fiduciary duties by the company’s directors and officer.”

The Attorneys General are Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, all of whom are apparently led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.

They also criticized Target for donating to Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a charity that aims to end the bullying of LGBTQ+ kids and teens. Makes sense that bullies would want to target a charity that prevents bullying.

The AGs have not specified consequences for non-compliance, nor have they actually sent any kind of cease-and-desist letter or legal equivalent. If anything, they seem to skirt around calling anything “illegal,” instead simply citing child protection laws—as though a Pride shirt being sold to a child is in any way abusive or harmful. (It’s especially ironic, considering how Arkansas recently loosened child labor laws, which actually protect the children they claim to care about.)

However, it is concerning to see multiple state officials attacking businesses for supporting the queer community. The AGs have also claimed that “Target’s directors and officers have a fiduciary duty to our States as shareholders in the company” and that “evidence suggests that Target’s directors and officers may be negligent in undertaking the ‘Pride’ campaign, which negatively affected Target’s stock price.”

Ironic, because they are the reason the stock would be negatively affected by this. It’s an intimidation tactic, plain and simple.

It’s not just pride merch that the AGs are targeting, either. They are also attacking merchandise containing “anti-Christian designs such as pentagrams, horned skulls, and other Satanic products.” I can’t help but wonder if they’ve ever been to a Spirit Halloween.

This fear-mongering calls back to the Satanic Panic of the 1970s and ’80s, which tragically led to real-world acts of violence being committed against non-conforming young people. Satanic Panic also coincided with a lot of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, amplified by the AIDS crisis.

Even more hilariously, the AGs suggest that “it is likely more profitable to sell the type of Pride that enshrines the love of the United States,” as if Target doesn’t also have a massive 4th of July section. They also ended the letter by “encouraging” Target to “not yield to [LGBTQ+] threats” and that “Target’s board and management should not use such threats as a pretext for using Target’s valuable business to promote collateral political and social agendas.” Which is exactly what they are doing.

Did they read this aloud to themselves at all? This whole letter puts the Republican party’s double standards on full display; Donald Trump had Pride merch for his queer supporters and yet no conservatives have put him on blast for it.

It’s wild how out of touch with the average American these conservative politicians are; when gay marriage was legalized in 2015, only 60% of Americans supported gay marriage. Now, that number is around 73%.

I guess we have to remind them of that fact.

If you live in any of these seven states, I highly encourage you to contact your Attorney General and let them know your thoughts on the matter. Just because Pride month is over doesn’t mean they can bully us back into the closet.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin

Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson

(featured image: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)