Southern Baptists end Disney boycott
Thursday, June 23, 2005; Posted: 9:38 a.m. EDT (13:38 GMT)
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Southern Baptists have voted to end their boycott of the Walt Disney Co., a move that comes eight years after the group condemned as immoral and "gay-friendly" everything from the company's same-sex employee benefits to the TV show "Ellen."
"We felt like it was time to end it," said Gene Mims, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention committee that put a new Disney resolution before some 12,000 members at the denomination's annual convention Wednesday.
The Disney resolution, passed in 1997, called for Southern Baptists to refrain from patronizing Disney theme parks and products, mainly because of the company's decision to give benefits to companions of gay employees.
Southern Baptists should continue to monitor the "products and policies of the Disney Company," according to the new resolution, which also urged members to "practice continued discernment regarding all entertainment products from all sources."
The latest resolution states that Disney, which includes the ABC television network, should serve "families of America by providing only those products that affirm traditional family values."
Disney officials in California did not have comment Wednesday.
"We have cost them hundreds of millions of dollars," said Wiley Drake, an SBC member from California, who spoke in favor of lifting the boycott because Disney had made corporate changes, including the recent stepping down of longtime Disney chief executive Michael Eisner.
Earlier this year, the American Family Association, a Mississippi-based conservative Christian group, ended a boycott of Disney launched nine years ago over similar issues, including the gay benefits, gay-related events at its theme parks, and violent and sex-filled content of movies made by its Miramax subsidiary.
Since the boycott began, Disney and Miramax founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein have agreed to part ways and the TV show "Ellen" was canceled, although its host has a successful syndicated series, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Also Wednesday, SBC delegates passed a resolution that encourages parents to investigate their children's public schools to determine whether they are too accepting of homosexuality.
"Homosexual activists and their allies are devoting substantial resources and using political power to promote the acceptance among schoolchildren of homosexuality as a morally legitimate lifestyle," the resolution states.
Houston lawyer Bruce Shortt, who co-sponsored the measure, said many public schools promote acceptance of homosexuality through officially sanctioned gay clubs, diversity training, anti-bullying courses, safe sex and safe-schools programs.
Charles Warford, a 71-year-old retired Southern Baptist pastor, was among the opponents of the resolution who spoke at a news conference hosted by The Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based gay rights advocacy group.
"I think most Southern Baptists realize the importance of public education," Warford said. "And many pastors' wives teach in public schools. I think it's very unfortunate that homophobia is still very much promoted in the Southern Baptist Convention through publications and other means."
With more than 16 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is second in size to only the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Resolutions approved by the convention are nonbinding, and all member churches are autonomous in their ministries.
Thursday, June 23, 2005; Posted: 9:38 a.m. EDT (13:38 GMT)
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People sing at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, in Nashville, Tennessee.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Southern Baptists have voted to end their boycott of the Walt Disney Co., a move that comes eight years after the group condemned as immoral and "gay-friendly" everything from the company's same-sex employee benefits to the TV show "Ellen."
"We felt like it was time to end it," said Gene Mims, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention committee that put a new Disney resolution before some 12,000 members at the denomination's annual convention Wednesday.
The Disney resolution, passed in 1997, called for Southern Baptists to refrain from patronizing Disney theme parks and products, mainly because of the company's decision to give benefits to companions of gay employees.
Southern Baptists should continue to monitor the "products and policies of the Disney Company," according to the new resolution, which also urged members to "practice continued discernment regarding all entertainment products from all sources."
The latest resolution states that Disney, which includes the ABC television network, should serve "families of America by providing only those products that affirm traditional family values."
Disney officials in California did not have comment Wednesday.
"We have cost them hundreds of millions of dollars," said Wiley Drake, an SBC member from California, who spoke in favor of lifting the boycott because Disney had made corporate changes, including the recent stepping down of longtime Disney chief executive Michael Eisner.
Earlier this year, the American Family Association, a Mississippi-based conservative Christian group, ended a boycott of Disney launched nine years ago over similar issues, including the gay benefits, gay-related events at its theme parks, and violent and sex-filled content of movies made by its Miramax subsidiary.
Since the boycott began, Disney and Miramax founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein have agreed to part ways and the TV show "Ellen" was canceled, although its host has a successful syndicated series, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Also Wednesday, SBC delegates passed a resolution that encourages parents to investigate their children's public schools to determine whether they are too accepting of homosexuality.
"Homosexual activists and their allies are devoting substantial resources and using political power to promote the acceptance among schoolchildren of homosexuality as a morally legitimate lifestyle," the resolution states.
Houston lawyer Bruce Shortt, who co-sponsored the measure, said many public schools promote acceptance of homosexuality through officially sanctioned gay clubs, diversity training, anti-bullying courses, safe sex and safe-schools programs.
Charles Warford, a 71-year-old retired Southern Baptist pastor, was among the opponents of the resolution who spoke at a news conference hosted by The Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based gay rights advocacy group.
"I think most Southern Baptists realize the importance of public education," Warford said. "And many pastors' wives teach in public schools. I think it's very unfortunate that homophobia is still very much promoted in the Southern Baptist Convention through publications and other means."
With more than 16 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is second in size to only the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Resolutions approved by the convention are nonbinding, and all member churches are autonomous in their ministries.
