Christians demand Walmart take down gay dating ad
More than 137,300 people have signed a petition urging Walmart to take down its gay dating ad.
Last month, Walmart launched a Valentine’s Day themed ad campaign called “Love Is in the Aisle: A Dating Show at Walmart,” which had three episodes, one of which included a same-sex couple (watch here).
In a petition started last week, the socially conservative American Family Association denounced the ad and called on Walmart to “remain neutral in culture war” and “remove pro-homosexual promotional video.”
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“For most Christians and other traditionalists, the idea that marriage is between a man and a woman is sacred. We've seen many large corporations reject that in their marketing, but I honestly never thought Walmart would join the cultural revolution and reject the beliefs of its customer base,” said AFA.
“We have no choice but to ask our supporters to let the company know how they, the customers, feel about Walmart's shift away from neutrality on this controversial issue to full support for same sex relationships.”
As of Friday afternoon, the AFA petition as garnered more than 137,300 signatories, with the AFA expressing a sense of betrayal over Walmart’s decision to air the ad.
“At least with a company like Amazon, we knew they were liberal from the outset. But this seems more like a betrayal from a well-known friend. Sam Walton is probably turning over in his grave,” continued AFA.
Based in Arkansas, this is not the first time that Walmart has expressed pro-LGBT sentiments. In 2015, the Arkansas legislature approved House Bill 1228, which was modeled off the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon denounced HB 1228, arguing in a social media post that the proposed legislation was anti-gay.
"Today's passage of HB1228 threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of Arkansas and does not reflect the values we proudly uphold," McMillon said at the time. "For these reasons, we are asking Governor [Asa] Hutchinson to veto this legislation."
The Christian Post queried Walmart in 2015, asking what specific part of HB 1228 they objected to. A spokesperson responded at the time that they could not name a specific quote or section of the bill that they objected to.
