海角大神

Against gay dads, One Million Moms urges Mattel to take 'neutral stand'

The Scheer family of Darnestown, Maryland found themselves at the center of an anti-gay campaign after being featured in American Girl magazine. 

When news broke that Chick-fil-A was funneling money into anti-gay organizations, liberal sectors of the American public reacted in outcry. Politicians tried to block the opening of new restaurants in their cities. Petitioners urged corporate partners to cancel contracts. And the boycotters, well, boycotted really hard.

Since then, there has been no shortage of corporate social activism and, of course, the subsequent clamoring of the masses.

In the most recent case, anti-gay group One Million Moms has called its supporters to , owned by Mattel. In the latest issue of American Girl magazine, one of the stories features a family of two dads and their four adopted kids.

鈥淥n pages 28-31 of the magazine is an article titled 鈥楩orever Family鈥� about adoption from foster care, which would have been wonderful if they had not decided to include a large picture of a girl with her two dads, Daddy and Dada, and three other adopted children,鈥� the organization says on its website.

鈥淎merican Girl is attempting to desensitize our youth by featuring a family with two dads,鈥� the Moms go on. 鈥淚f your child has not seen this yet, then be careful she is not exposed and can avoid a premature conversation she is far too young to understand.鈥�

The article at hand is about 11-year-old Amaya Scheer of Darnestown, Maryland, and her involvement in a charity for foster kids. In it, she also shares her own story of being in foster care. Amaya was adopted in 2009 by Rob and Reece Scheer, who later welcomed home three other foster kids, including Amaya鈥檚 brother.

The family has since appeared on several local TV programs in reaction to One Million Moms鈥� opposition, and the contentious story has gained national traction.

But Mattel and the Scheers aren鈥檛 the only ones the conservative Moms are campaigning against. According to the group鈥檚 website, it鈥檚 currently running 12 campaigns against products or services deemed as immoral or profane, including Doritos 鈥淩ainbow鈥� chips, a Campbell鈥檚 Soup commercial that features gay dads, and ABC鈥檚 adaption of The Muppets (the group objected, among other things, to Miss Piggy identifying as a pro-choice feminist).

Regardless of their dedicated efforts, One Million Moms and its conservative cohorts may be fighting an uphill battle. When the Supreme Court was considering gay marriage earlier this year, hundreds of companies filed briefs in support of equality. And when SCOTUS ruled in favor, dozens more expressed their in public statements and ad campaigns.

More importantly, a growing number of companies 鈥� including those serving families and children 鈥� are becoming more and more LGBT-friendly in hiring practices and benefits packages. As 海角大神 has previously reported

Today, include 鈥渟exual orientation鈥� in their nondiscrimination policies with 66 percent including 鈥済ender identity,鈥� according to a 2015 report by the Human Rights Campaign. Two thirds of the nation鈥檚 top businesses now offer full equivalent benefits to same-sex spouses or partners, and more than a third now offer transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, even in states that do not require them.

To the Scheers, the endeavors of One Million Moms are misguided.

鈥淭hese are four kids that have more than we ever thought,鈥� Rob Scheer told Fox 5鈥檚 Good Day DC. 聽

鈥淎nd so, the Million Moms, I say to them, 'You know what? Go to your local foster care agency. Those kids could really use your help. And not worry about the Scheer family.'"