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

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