General Mills CEO Ken Powell did not mince words on Wednesday when he attended an LGBT pride event and declared his company’s strong opposition to a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in his home state of Minnesota.
During his speech Mr. Powell proclaimed:
“We value diversity. We value inclusion.”
Powell then continued by noting that the ban would not be “in the best interests of our employees or our state economy.”
As expected the anti-gay organization The National Organization for Marriage threw a fit, claiming that General Mills was turning against its core group of buyers. The group told the San Francisco Chronicle :
“General Mills makes billions marketing cereal to parents of young children. It has now effectively declared a war on marriage with its own customers.”
The marriage organizations president said he believes the move will go down as “one of the dumbest PR stunt ever” handled by an American company. In the meantime with more than 50% of the country now supporting gay marriage and full gay rights it’s likely General Mills could actually end up with a more devout fanbase.
In the meantime General Mills is now gaining support from very vocal marriage equality activists.
While I wouldn’t expect to see Neil Patrick Harris on a Wheaties box anytime in the near future the move by General Mills to outright support gay rights in the United States highlights the dramatic shift in viewpoints the country has been experiencing over the last several years.
Would you buy a really gay box of Cheerios?
