Target's Rainbow-Licious #TakePride Line Is Back In Support Of LGBT Pride Month
“We’re making our message loud and clear."
CityPages For the second year in a row, popular retailer Target is offering their seasonal Gay Pride product line in honor of LGBT Pride Month, which is currently celebrated every June.
The line includes all sorts of rainbow embellished gear like shirts, shorts, swimwear, iPhone cases, and other accessories.
Target wants to make it VERY clear that they fully support the LGBTQ community.
“We’re making our message loud and clear: Target proudly stands with the LGBT community,” said Laysha Ward, the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer in a statement on the company's #TakePride website.
This isn't the first time Target has shown such a public expression of support.
In 2014, the retailer publicly endorsed marriage equality with this statement on their website: “At Target, we are committed to creating an environment where team members and guests feel welcome, valued and respected.”
Then, in 2015, Target announced it was getting rid of gender-based signs in certain areas of its stores, including entertainment, kids' bedding, and toys. According to an article in Upworthy, the mega-store shared that, "Customers will stop seeing gender-specific labels or pinks, blues, yellows, or greens used to imply a product is only for one gender."
And in 2016, Target backed transgender rights when it came to bathroom access in all stores throughout the United States, even in the face of a national boycott.
In a statement shared by The Washington Post, Target stated:
“We believe that everyone — every team member, every guest, and every community — deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally ... Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination.”
We happily applaud Target for not only proudly displaying these gay pride products in their stores, but for standing firm behind their beliefs despite receiving backlash and hate from homophobic people.
And considering that June 12, 2017, will be the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, this author thinks that it's important to put our opinions aside and come together in memory of this tragic event that ended with 49 people murdered, 53 injured and the lives of millions forever affected.
As a native of Orlando, I know I will never forget watching the news as they released the names of each of the people who tragically lost their lives, carefully listening to each name and silently hoping I wouldn't recognize one.
Too many beautiful souls lost their lives that day due to hate. Let's learn something from it and show some pride.
Love is love.
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