Policy | Family Talk

Pride before the Fall?

Written by Gary Bauer | July 17, 2024
Proverbs 16:18 tells us, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (NIV). Bud Light and Target learned that lesson last year. Other corporations got the message and scaled back their "Pride" displays last month. In fact, overall, "Pride Month 2024" appeared to have gone out with a whimper rather than a bang. Some sports teams even decided to bail out of the "Pride parade" this year.

Matt Skallerud, president of a leading LGBTQ marketing firm, recently said, "most companies like ours are "pretty busy" in June, but "I have not been, and I think it's across the board." He added:

Nobody in the media, marketing, and advertising world wants to admit how heavy and hard this has been. Ever since Target and Bud Light had their fiascos last year, a tremendous number of brands have decided it would be much better to sit on the sidelines and let this sort itself out.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), our nation's largest gay rights lobbying group, publishes an annual ranking of the most pro-LGBTQ corporations. Corporate CEOs have tripped over themselves for years to score a perfect 100 percent.

After Bud Light's Dylan Mulvaney disaster, 297 companies lost their 100 percent scores because they were backing off from the LGBTQ propaganda.

As the curtain closed on "Pride Month 2024," Tractor Supply, the iconic agricultural retail chain, was forced to do its own backtracking. After a blogger exposed the company's financial support for various groups promoting an extremist gay agenda, Tractor Supply experienced a big backlash from rural customers. The retailer immediately went public and promised to end the funding.

We have seen a general backlash, not just against corporations but against the constant promotion of the flagrant LGBTQ agenda. The movement that originally asked to be tolerated has morphed into an aggressive cause demanding we celebrate their lifestyles.

During "Pride Month," you have to search hard to find a movie free of gay themes and trans characters. But on the Fourth of July were a few patriotic films. Otherwise, the day was like any other.

The good news is that last year's boycott efforts had a measurable impact. Congratulations to everyone who took action against Bud Light and Target last year and against Tractor Supply this year. Your efforts made a difference!