The Advocate magazine reports that the anti-gay Christian group American Family Association has apparently succeeded in getting Ford Motor Company to pull its advertising from gay magazines and other media outlets, after it threatened Ford with a boycott in response to what it perceived was Ford’s support of gay lifestyles:

[Ford] came under fire from the AFA in May for its longtime efforts to increase LGBT workplace diversity and support gay rights causes. Ford has long been a regular advertiser within gay media, including The Advocate, and has donated significant sums to LGBT causes and nonprofit groups such as the Human Rights Campaign. . . .

[Ford] confirmed that the company would no longer advertise Jaguar and Land Rover products in the gay media, saying that the decision was strictly “business.” . . . According to a list of demands on AFA’s Web site, the organization insisted that Ford and all of its brands stop donating cash, vehicles, and endorsements to gay social activities. This includes donations to pride celebrations.

This is an absolute disgrace -- Ford should be absolutely ashamed of itself for capitulating to extremist threats and extortion tactics. I personally am ashamed that I own a Ford vehicle and unless Ford stands up for justice and equality, rather than hatred and exclusion, I will never buy another Ford vehicle again (this includes Mercury, Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover, and Aston Martin).

By trying to avoid one boycott, it looks like Ford is now going to face a completely opposite one, as it rightfully should.

Update: As CNN and other media are now reporting, after meeting with gay rights organizations, Ford has apparently reconfirmed its commitment to valuing the gay/lesbian community and will resume advertising in gay publications, although in a slightly different way -- promoting their entire line of brands instead of focusing on targeted brands like Land Rover and Jaguar.

At any rate, I applaud Ford for doing the right thing and will not include them on my boycott list -- for now. Let’s see how they respond to the inevitable backlash from conservative anti-gay groups.