Fundamentalist Freaks Foment Fear of Ford

It's been a while since my last campy, Variety-style headline. Anyway, the right-wing fundamentalists are at it again, this time hoping to destroy Ford motor company for allegedly promoting gay marriage. If your reaction to that is "Wha..?" then you're part of an American majority-- which has more important things to worry about than the sinister link between luxury autos and the "New Gay Order." Say, if it crosses your mind, why not drop Ford a line in support of their position?

The AFA, the nonprofit group run by the Rev. Donald Wildmon, criticized Ford for donating money to gay-rights organizations — Ford offers to give up to $1,000 to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination for every Jaguar and Land Rover it sells. The group also complained that Ford sponsored gay pride celebrations, advertised in gay-oriented publications and was “redefining the definition of the family to include homosexual marriage,” Randy Sharp, the organization’s director of special projects, said Tuesday.

If anything, Ford says, the AFA is not giving it enough credit.

Marcey Evans, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an interview Wednesday that the AFA was misusing “diversity” by treating it as a code word for “homosexuality.” But “to Ford, diversity is a much broader definition than simply homosexuality,” she said. “Diversity is very important to Ford, and it goes beyond homosexuality.”