Obama's I'm against same-sex marriage but against ending it's practice via California's Proposition 8 rings about as true as Wisconsin State Senator Jim Sullivan saying, he is for Voter ID but not for a state constitutional amendment referendum question requiring Voter ID. It's doublespeak for I don't want the current situation to change, but don't want to be on the record as saying so.

Obama Says He is Against Same-Sex Marriage But Also Against Ending Its Practice In Calif.:

Barack Obama's nuanced position on same-sex marriage is on full display in an MTV interview which is set to air on Monday.

Obama told MTV he believes marriage is "between a man and a woman" and that he is "not in favor of gay marriage." 

At the same time, Obama reiterated his opposition to Proposition 8, the California ballot measure which would eliminate a right to same-sex marriage that the state's Supreme Court recently recognized.

That's their Obama! Trying to be on both sides of the fence.

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

Links: 

I almost forgot about this: the McDonald's boycott ended about 2 weeks ago. Family Research Council reports:

The Big Mac attack on family values is finally over! After a five-month boycott, Americans finally got what they ordered-McDonald's agreement to stop financing the homosexual agenda. Back in May, the fast food giant joined the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to the dismay of millions of customers who did not feel served. At the time, company Vice President Richard Ellis refused to back down, even calling conservatives "haters" in a public statement.

The American Family Association launched a national campaign to force McDonald's to eat its words. And eat them, they did! This week, McDonald's announced that Ellis had resigned from the GLCC. In an email to franchises, the company said, "It is our policy not to be involved in political and social issues. McDonald's remains neutral on same-sex marriage [and the] 'homosexual agenda...'" We thank McDonald's -- and those of you who used your buying power to encourage values on the menu and in company policy.

Additional Resources
Chicago Sun-Times: McDonald's cuts off gay chamber of commerce group

Ah, the power of the purse... Happy Meals are here again! 

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

Links: 

If you remember, The American Family Association objected to McDonald's joining the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, making a $20,000 donation to that group, and placing a McDonald's executive on the their board back in April. McDonald's did not take the AFA's objections very seriously.

This month, the AFA is dialing up their objections a notch; they recently announced a McDonald's boycott because of McDonald's refusal "to stay neutral in the cultural war over homosexuality." From The Washington Post:

The [AFA] association asked McDonald's to remove itself from the chamber but the burger-maker declined, leading to the boycott. "We're saying that there are people who support AFA who don't appreciate their dollars from the hamburgers they bought being put into an organization that's going to fight against the values they believe in," Tim Wildmon, the association's president, said yesterday.

"Hatred has no place in our culture," McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said. "That includes McDonald's, and we stand by and support our people to live and work in a society free of discrimination and harassment."

"Hatred?"  Who said anything about hatred? All AFA asked was that McDonald's stop supporting the Gay/Lesbian Chamber, a group the AFA sees as promoting anti-family values, such as same sex marriage.

To be perfectly clear about what this boycott is NOT and IS about, the AFA has stated their position in plain English on their boycott page:

Links:  

McDonald's has been showing it's true rainbow colors as of late, and I'm not lovin it. What next? Ronald McDonald coming out of the closet? (Ooh, not ready for that!)

On April 2, 2008, I received an Action Alert from American Family Association, a conservative Christian group. It informed that "McDonald's has signed on to a nationwide effort to promote 'gay' and 'lesbian' business ventures."  

Less than a week later, AFA sent out McDonald's rebuttal to the AFA's accusation that they are "aggressively promoting the homosexual agenda." AFA addressed McDonald's rebuttal: (McDonald's remarks are in bold, AFA's are in normal type.)

 “While one McDonald’s employee is affiliated with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), McDonald’s is in no way ‘aggressively promoting the homosexual agenda’ as suggested in the newsletter.”

To refer to Richard Ellis, who is the vice president of communications for McDonald’s, as “one McDonald’s employee,” as if he is a teenager flipping hamburgers, is disingenuous at best.

While “aggressively” is admittedly a subjective term, AFA believes that giving money to and partnering with a homosexual lobby organization is certainly an enthusiastic promotion of the homosexual agenda.


“The NGLCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to support economic opportunities for the gay and lesbian business community.”

It is quite clear from the NGLCC Web site that that organization not only supports “economic opportunities” for homosexuals, it also lobbies Congress on a wide range of issues related to the gay agenda.

This is the press release from the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce about McDonald's Vice President of Communications, Richard Ellis, being added to the NGLCC board. It also mentions Ellis is an active member on the Board of Directors for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

Today I received another Action Alert. It stated that McDonald's is still saying they are not a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. McDonald's Vice-President Jack Daly stated that although they gave the NGLCC $20,000, "Richard Ellis was elected to the NGLCC board as a private citizen and not a representative of McDonald's." 

Watch the ad and decide for yourself if Richard Ellis is acting as a private citizen. (If he is, why is McDonald's name used and logo evident?) "So dedicated to promoting gay activities on public streets, McDonald's sponsored the 2007 San Francisco Gay Pride parade with a television commercial. In the ad, McDonald’s brags that it is 'a company that actively demonstrates its commitment to the gay and lesbian community.'”

According to a OneNewsNow* poll, 83.64% of those surveyed answered, Yes, to the question, "Is the decision by McDonald's to help fund homosexual activism enough for you and your family to start eating at another fast-food restaurant?" Granted, the survey might have been from a conservative pool of people, but can any corporation afford to alienate that large of a customer group?

That article cited a similar incident with Wal-Mart a few years ago: "...two years ago, Wal-Mart joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. But after AFA representatives discussed the matter with Wal-Mart officials, the company allowed their position on the Chamber's board to expire -- and according to Wildmon, Wal-Mart is no longer a member of the NGLCC."

If this is an important issue to you, send McDonald's an email (link is to pre-written email--use as is or write your own) or give their president, Andrew McKenna a call: Phone: 1-800-244-6227 or: 630-623-3000, E-Mail: Andrew J. McKenna, Since McDonald's are franchised, speak to your individual store manager and let them know how you feel about this affiliation.  

*OneNewsNow is part of the American Family News Network.  

Past Posts: Strength in numbers translates to policy changes or When people/money talk, companies listen

Links: