GLAAD defends lucrative JC Penney contract of wealthy talk show hostess, real estate flipper and Mario Lopez stripper Ellen DeGeneres with a press release after issuance of OneMillionMoms press release

Since the American Family Association appears to exclusively own the right-wing conspiracy franchise on attempted ideological extortion of gay-friendly Home Depot, OneMillionMoms has gone after JC Penney, demanding that it replace Ellen DeGeneres because she is openly gay.

Now GLAAD is counter-attacking, but before we get to that, a word:

AKSARBENT has a suggestion for GLAAD, which repeatedly spelled "JC Penney" with periods and once with no capital letters at all in its press release, which we had to correct before ripping it off for our blog publicizing it. That suggestion is to be more careful, as AKSARBENT has quite enough problems with spelling, grammar and punctuation (to say nothing of defective corks) without dealing with GLAAD's. Capiche?

Last week, retail giant JC Penney announced a new partnership with America's favorite talk-show host, Ellen DeGeneres.

     “We share the same fundamental values as Ellen,” noted the company's President, Michael Francis. “At JC Penney, we couldn't think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience.”

     Now, however, the anti-gay group "One Million Moms.com, a project of the American Family Association" – an organization designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) – has launched a campaign demanding that the retailer fire Ellen simply because she's gay. According to SPLC, "hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics."

     “DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store,” says the group. (via LGBT news site JoeMyGod)

     But a majority of Americans disagree. Today, more people than ever celebrate the love of every family – gay or straight – and know that no person should be ridiculed, much less fired, simply for being who they are. Even today, Americans can be fired in 29 states for being gay and in 34 states for being transgender.

Support for the gay and lesbian community has been demonstrated in many polls. A 2011 Gallup poll showed that 53% of Americans support marriage equality, and data continues to reflect an American public that wants to ensure that all loving couples are able to marry, regardless of sexual orientation.

Among her many accolades, Ellen received the People's Choice Award for Favorite Daytime TV Host earlier this month. She has also served as a spokesperson for American Express and Cover Girl, among others. Sites including Joe My God, Think Progress, Lez Get Real and Towleroad broke the news and are also calling on readers to voice support for JC Penney.

TAKE ACTION:

The American Family Association – an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a “hate group” -- is spreading anti-gay attitudes and bias by asking its supporters to contact JC Penney and tell the company to fire Ellen simply because of who she is.

     First, add your name to the list of supporters for JC Penney's decision: Add your name now!

     Second, call JC Penney now to remind America's favorite retailer that hate should not be for sale in America's stores.

JC Penney, Customer Service – (972) 431-8200

JC Penney, Corporate Headquarters – (972) 431-1000

     Third, share this action on Twitter:
RT @glaad: Will you #StandUpForEllen? Support @TheEllenShow & thank @jcpenney for making the right choice http://glaad.org/ellen #LGBT