The letter is signed by the attorneys general of Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina.
(Brandon Smith / IPB News)
Indiana’s attorney general is accusing Target of neglecting its investors after a conservative backlash over LGBTQ pride products.
In a letter to Target’s chairman and CEO, Attorney General Todd Rokita noted conservative criticism and boycotts likely negatively affected share prices.
“Target’s directors and officers have a fiduciary duty to our States as shareholders in the company,” Rokita wrote in the letter, which was signed by six other state attorneys general.
“The evidence suggests that Target’s directors and officers may be negligent in undertaking the ‘Pride’ campaign, which negatively affected Target’s stock price.”
The letter listed several LGBTQ+ products that angered conservatives when they went on display this spring. Target offers a collection of clothing and other products for sale each year before and during pride month in June.
The letter is signed by the attorneys general of Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina.
It also criticizes Target’s support for GLSEN, which supports inclusive policies and initiatives for children who identify as LGBTQ+.
A Target spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to inquiries Friday.
This nonstop transanity doesn’t sell, and it’s damaging our state’s efforts to safeguard young Hoosiers. My office will continue working daily to protect our children and uphold parental rights. https://t.co/kzTNpgOdDv
“Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being while at work,” it said in a statement.
“Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”
Target said that customers knocked down Pride displays at some stores, angrily approached workers and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.
Target declined to specify which items it was removing but among the ones that garnered the most attention were “tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts.
Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company that designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ+ clothing and accessories, have also created backlash.
The Pride merchandise had been on sale since early May. Pride month is held in June.
Target confirmed that it has moved its Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to the back in some Southern stores after confrontations and backlash from shoppers in those areas.
Target’s response to confrontations in its stores is taking place as state legislatures introduce a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ+ individuals.
There are close to 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have gone before state legislatures since the start of this year, an unprecedented number, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Those efforts focus on health, particularly gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, and education. State legislatures are pushing to prevent discussions in school regarding sexuality and gender identity.
At least 17 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, though judges have temporarily blocked their enforcement in some, including Arkansas. Often those bills sprang not from grassroots or constituent demand, but from the pens of a handful of conservative interest groups.
Target’s Pride month collection has also been the subject of several misleading videos, with social media users falsely claiming the retailer is selling “tuck-friendly” bathing suits designed for kids or in kids’ sizes.
