Wal-Mart has Joined the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce-Truth!
Wal-Mart is Donating 5% of All Online Sales to a Homosexual Group in Washington D.C.-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A couple of messages say that Wal-Mart has become a member of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and is linking arms with that group to promote homosexual marriage and that Wal-Mart has agreed to give 5% of all sales online to a Washington D.C. gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender group.
The Truth:
According to both Wal-Mart and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), it is true that Wal-Mart has become a member of the NGLCC.
The report that all online sales for Wal-Mart are going to a Washington D.C.group is not true.
Although Wal-Mart has not taken an official position on the issue of same-sex marriage, the NGLCC is harshly critical of what it calls efforts by the “far right” to write discrimination into the constitution with efforts like the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would define marriage as between a man and a woman and applauded congress for turning it down.
A release by the NGLCC on August 21, 2006 says that Wal-Mart’s Dee Breazeale, vice president of divisional merchandise, SAM’S CLUB Jewelry, will be serving on the NGLCC’s Corporate Advisory Council. The release describes the council as “…composed of NGLCC corporate partners whose mission is to discuss issues upon which members of the NGLCC and CAC work together to educate Corporate America and the public on the economic benefits of providing a diverse workplace and creating mutually beneficial relationships with the LGBT and LGBT-friendly business community.” (LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual.) The release also says that Wal-Mart has sponsored two conferences for the NGLCC.
Other members of the NGLCC include IBM, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, American Airlines, Intel Corporation, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Lehman Brothers, Motorola, Travelport, Merrill Lynch, American Express, Cisco Systems, Avis, Orbitz, Intuit, Kodak, Fannie Mae, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, and Kimpton.
Regarding the online sales eRumor, Wal-Mart told TruthOrFiction.com that the Washington D.C. gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender group is simply one of many that applied to be an affiliate with Wal-Mart and to have links on its website that would sell product from Wal-Mart online. The affiliates get 5% of whatever is sold through the links. Wal-Mart says the group has been an affiliate since 2002 and as of 11/10/06 has sold only about $41 in products.
Updated 11/10/06