Petitioners urge Best Buy to oppose anti-gay Minnesota initiative

More than 15,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling on Best Buy to oppose a ballot campaign to amend the Minnesota constitution to ban same-sex marriage.



University of Minnesota law school student Andrew Korando started the petition drive after the Minnesota-based Target Corporation issued a statement against the ballot measure.



“Opposing this amendment is not simply the right thing to do, but as a local institution, it is also in Best Buy’s best interest if it wants to recruit and retain the industry’s top talent,” said Korando. “I moved to Minnesota from another state, earned a law degree and planned on making this state my home because I love how well the state takes care of all Minnesotans. If corporations allow this discriminatory policy to pass, they’ll lose people like me.”

Target’s statement read, in part, “Target does not believe that a constitutional fight over the issue is good for Minnesota or the state’s ability to attract jobs and grow the economy.”

When people sign Korando’s petition, Change.org sends an e-mail to Best Buy executives, as well as members of the company’s LGBT employee group.



Best Buy has a 100 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equality index, but in 2010 the company, like Target, faced criticism for a $100,000 donation to a PAC that funneled money to anti-gay politicians in Minnesota.

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