Human Rights Campaign counters Target's Emmer donation

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New campaign cash aims to counteract Target's Emmer donation.

​Target set off a good-sized ruckus this summer when it dropped $150,000 on a political fund backing GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Gay rights advocates were incensed, arguing that by backing such a nakedly homophobic candidate, the retail giant was betraying the LGBT customers it has assiduously courted for years.

Those protests generated a lot of light, but if they turned up the heat, Target didn't seem to feel it. The company offered a weak-sauce apology, then promptly backed out of talks with gay rights groups over whether to make an equal donation to gay rights causes, and called the episode over. Back to business as usual.

Now the Human Rights Campaign, which Target left at the negotiating table last month, is taking matters into its own hands. The HRC announced today that it will be making $150,000 in donations to local gay rights groups, a DFL-backed political fund, and Minnesota candidates who support gay rights, including Mark Dayton.

Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solomonese told the AP this morning that his group may spend even more in Minnesota because it could be the next state to legalize gay marriage.