New Balance's Ties to Fiercely Anti-Gay Politics

by Michael Jones · 2011-08-06 00:02:00 UTC
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You might know New Balance as the major brand of shoes and athletic wear found at marathons, road races, and gyms around the country.

Here's what you might not know about the company: their Chairman, James Davis, has given upwards of $500,000 to Mitt Romney's campaign for President -- the same Mitt Romney who just signed a viciously anti-gay pledge from the National Organization for Marriage that amounts to a full-on assault on the civil rights of LGBT Americans.

New Balance's Davis was revealed as a major donor to Romney's campaign this week, after a filing with the Federal Election Commission disclosed a number of Romney's top supporters. With a $500,000 donation, Davis is quite the Romney backer. And as such, his cool half million is going to support a Presidential campaign that has taken a sharp and increasingly anti-gay turn.

Which is why it's time to send New Balance a message asking whether they stand by their Chairperson's donation to an extremely anti-gay politician who wants to take marriage rights away for same-sex couples. Send the company a message now.

The pledge Romney signed this past week, from the (officially dubbed a hate group) National Organization for Marriage, is particularly cruel, in that it argues that LGBT families should be broken apart, that same-sex marriage should be banned in the U.S. Constitution, and that married couples in places like Washington, D.C. should have their relationships voided.

But it gets even worse. When Mitt Romney signed the pledge, he agreed to -- should he win the 2012 presidential race -- appoint judges and an Attorney General supportive of banning same-sex marriage, and to appoint a Presidential Commission to investigate LGBT rights supporters.

And the Chairman of New Balance is happy to give a candidate who supports this anti-gay platform half a million dollars? So much for New Balance being known for its shoes. It's now known as the company with the Chairman who'll give $500,000 to fund an extremely anti-gay candidate for President.

Send New Balance a message that this type of political support for divisive, anti-gay politics is unacceptable. The Chairman of the company is the public face of New Balance, and as such, his political donations reflect directly on the company. What's their answer to Mitt Romney's support for a hate group's anti-gay pledge?

Earth to New Balance: your customers are waiting for an answer.

Photo credit: Satoshi Kobayashi

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.

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