E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSST. PAUL, Minn. — General Mills - the owner of Wheaties, Betty Crocker, Green Giant and other iconic American brands - said Thursday it opposes a proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, the largest company in the state to come out against the measure so far.
"We do not believe the proposed constitutional amendment is in the best interests of our employees or our state economy — and as a Minnesota-based company we oppose it," Ken Charles, vice president of global diversity and inclusion for General Mills, wrote in a letter to employees and the public, the Star Tribune reported. "We value diversity. We value inclusion. We always have and we always will."
A company spokeswoman did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press requesting a copy of the letter.
"This will go down as one of the dumbest corporate PR stunts of all time," warned Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, a group pushing for the amendment.
NOM has spearheaded campaigns against other pro-gay marriage corporations, including Starbucks.
Minnesota already bans gay marriage by statute, but gay marriage opponents have said putting the ban in the state constitution would make it harder for courts to undo it. Voters will decide the issue in November.
Minnesota for Marriage, another group pushing for the amendment's passage, accused General Mills of "pandering to a small but powerful interest group."
"By taking this position, General Mills is saying to Minnesotans and people all around the globe that marriage doesn't matter to them," Chairman John Helmberger said in a statement.
Executives from St. Jude Medical, RBC Wealth Management and Carlson Companies also have publicly opposed the proposal.
Businesses have found it can be risky to take sides on polarizing social issues. Target Corp. suffered a backlash two years ago after making a political donation to a Republican candidate for governor who opposed gay marriage. The company was criticized again earlier this month for selling gay pride T-shirts to raise money for a group working to defeat the gay marriage ban.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More from msnbc.com business:
- Family, work balancing act? Dads have to do it too
- Dads' household duties worth less than moms'
- Lawmakers battle to end 'rental car roulette'
- Video: Combining finances in a second marriage
Follow msnbc.com business on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Gee, with major chains like Target and General Mills condoning equal rights for all citizens you think just maybe they did some research and found out the bigoted minority doesn't speak for everyone??
I always thought that Cap'n Crunch was kind of a sweet type! Guess GM's board must be loaded up with his friends.
hmmm lucky charms, fruit loops, trix... didn't see this one coming. Too many companies are wielding there corporate might to shape the country for the rest of us. Corporate America should never push for or develop policy on how people live, it's we the people! Once they fire the idiot who came up with this bright idea I'll consider buying their products again.
Oh. blah blah blah. If General Mills came out against same sex marriage you'd be PRAISING them, not complaining about corporate might shaping our country. Go ahead, don't buy their products. I and others will buy them even MORE. They don't need your business, and a lot of people don't need people like you meddling in THEIR lives, lives which harm you not, other than that you can't stand the THOUGHT of it.
Actually don't care either way about "the thought of it", gay or straight it should stay in the bedroom. Going beyond the gay issue it blows my mind that the country has been buckled by debt. The banks that got money to fix the problem they created spent millions on holiday parties, end of year bonuses and lobbying. Likewise the auto manufactures that failed were streamlined after crapping on their shareholders and now those companies have a great advantage over Ford who did not. And that is where my gripe starts, business should make money not police social policies. Very dangerous precedent is set when companies provide our moral compass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=_JI3ajM4QLc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2waZOYD0-A
"This will go down as one of the dumbest corporate PR stunts of all time," warned Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, a group pushing for the amendment.
No sir, it is your organization and people like you which will go down as "dumb", when you are swept into the dustbin of history. The day will come when same sex marriage will be allowed everywhere, and it will not affect "traditional" marriage one bit. Most people are heterosexual and most of them will continue to marry and have children. Giving a voting, tax paying, society-contributing minority equal rights will change none of this. It is you who will be remembered for your small mindedness and ignorance.
i'm sorry erin , but our constitution was based on biblical law, maybe you better read it !
WRONG, Nick. Perhaps you had better read it -- particularly the First Amendment. Show me where the Constitution mentions God, Jesus, the bible, or any other religious text or deity.
Then you can read what John Adams had to say:
John Adams, Treaty of Tripoli, 1797
If you need further proof, you can look up Supreme Court cases like Lemon v. Kurtzman.
Demonstratably false! The Constitution is based on English Common Law. Not the bible or any religious ideology. I defy you to prove otherwise!
Why would somebody think a groups who's only purpose is to deny others rights.
Why do we need such groups. WOW what a disgrace.
Gay marriage is an abomination; abortion is murder.
Libs are not tolerant; they just refuse to distinguish between right and wrong.
This country was founded on a Christian-Judeo heritage whether gays and perverts like it or not.
Erin, how you doing ?
A President gone astray.............. JMJ
Gay marriageBigotry is an abomination; abortion ismurdera personal decision made by a woman.LibsConservaturds are not tolerant; they just refuse to distinguish between right and wrong.John Adams, Treaty of Tripoli, 1797
There is no "Judeo-Christian" heritage; this nation is secular, and it always has been, as it was intended to be, whether you conservaturds like it or not.
Bob:
If our country was founded on religion, then why are we not a theocracy? Why do we have "separation of church and state"?
Have you ever read a U.S. history book? Or even attended a U.S. history class?
This country is actually based on the Constitution, a secular document, itself based on English Common Law, whether you like it or not!
Opinion and the law disagrees!
And you just seem to be trolling!
Based on his post, he may have attended history class in Texas. Or Kansas. Tennessee perhaps?
I'm just waiting for someone to proclaim: "there is no separation of church and state in the constitution," or some other similar tripe like it was fact. That's always good for a laugh.
So why would that even matter. I'm against heterosexual marriage because I'm against marriage all together, but you do not see advertising or publicizing the fact. I don't why these corporations are even making public what they are for or against, improve your products and reduce your overhead and pass the saving to the American consumers.