Target Stands Up for LGBT Community In the Midst of Religious Freedom Law Battle

Target is finally living up to its nickname “Tar-gay” with an LGBT-affirming post to its Instagram feed that Gay Star News says attracted the most likes in the retailers Instagram history.

The photo shows a rainbow completing the top half of the iconic Target bullseye logo. It includes the caption, “Everyone deserves to feel like they belong. And you’ll always be accepted, respected and welcomed here.”

https://instagram.com/p/08nXIcJX47/?taken-by=target

The photo was posted in the midst of the nationwide Religious Freedom Law discussions, which many advocates are saying gives businesses a free pass to discriminate against LGBT customers.

Target issued a statement on its site following the back-and-forth battles that were happening in Indiana and Arkansas, saying: “In recent days, we’ve heard from you, our guests. You’ve asked us for Target’s thoughts about what it means to have an inclusive culture. You’ve asked us if, given the current conversations taking place across our country, we were taking a stand. And while most of those have been one-on-one conversations as you have called or emailed us, we wanted to take time to share our thoughts more broadly. They are simple. Everyone deserves to feel like they belong. And you’ll always be accepted, respected and welcomed here.”

As Gay Star News points out, Target doesn’t have the happiest of histories with the LGBT community. In 2010, for example, it was criticized for donating to the campaign of an ant-gay politician. Those days seem to be behind us, though, and now we don’t have to feel like we’re betraying our community every time we take a Target trip.