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Jon Collins
St. Paul, Minn.

Target declares support for gay marriage

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TVs at Target
Televisions at a Target store. The company has signed an amicus brief in support of gay marriage.
Elise Amendola/AP

Target Corp. has declared its support for gay marriage for the first time.

The company signed onto the amicus brief for two cases dealing with same-sex marriage before the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. The cases seek to overturn bans on same-sex marriage in Indiana and Wisconsin.

The decision was part of the company's "long-standing commitment to inclusivity and diversity," Jodee Kozlak, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, wrote Tuesday in a Target blog post.

"We believe that everyone -- all of our team members and our guests -- deserve to be treated equally."

"We are proud to support the LGBT community," she added, and those states' refusal to recognize same-sex couples make it difficult for the company to retain talent.

"We believe that everyone - all of our team members and our guests - deserve to be treated equally," Kozlak wrote.

Target earned the ire of same-sex marriage supporters in 2010 after donating to a group that supported a gubernatorial candidate opposed to same-sex marriage. The company stayed neutral on the issue in 2012 when Minnesotans voted down a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

In a comment emailed to MPR News, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin congratulated Target for the decision, saying that "bans on marriage equality serve no purpose other than to harm families,"

Oral arguments in both court cases are scheduled for later this month.