Why this shopper can't go to Target again

My last shopping trip to Target has made the news.

It started out when I heard that Target gave $150,000 to Tom Emmer. I was shocked and upset. Tom Emmer as governor would be a nightmare for our family and for everyone in the gay community.

It didn't make sense that Target would support a candidate who had earned a reputation as one of the most anti-gay legislators. Target had earned a 100 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign as a corporation that embraced its gay employees. I wanted to know how it could give Emmer that large sum while knowing that the lives of many wonderful employees would be profoundly affected if Emmer won in November.

I needed to talk to Target. I tried many times to call Target headquarters, but each time the person answering could only take a message to pass on. I then tried talking to different departments in the executive offices. The end result of those calls was a message on my phone asking me not to call anymore. I realized then the only way I could talk to Target was to visit a store and talk to the store manager.

I found an old Target receipt in my purse and looked at it. The money I had spent at the store that day was now supporting Tom Emmer for governor. I realized I could no longer be a Target customer. The love I have for my son and for all my dear friends in the gay community far outweighed anything I could buy there.

I not only needed to talk to the manager. I needed to show Target what our family spends at its store, so it would know it was losing a loyal and good customer. I planned one last shopping trip to Target. I wanted it to see what I spent each time, and I wanted it to see me cancel my Target credit card. And I wanted to share my last trip to Target with Gregg Steinhafel, Target's CEO. So I wanted it videotaped. I had written him a letter, but I knew my letter would be buried in the mail he was receiving.

Steinhafel supports Republican candidates. He recently gave to Michele Bachmann's reelection campaign, but that is his personal business. It crosses the line when Target does it as a corporation. It was the leadership at Target that decided to use Target's money to support Tom Emmer. I wanted it to hear from me that Target's actions were hurting a whole segment of its employees and customers.

After the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case, what Steinhafel and Target did was legal. That ruling puts a new burden on all of us. As consumers, we must make sure we are aware of the money that businesses lavish on candidates. Now we must not only vote at the polls on Election Day but with our wallets during the campaigns.

Target decided that Emmer would give it the best business deal. We must show Target that people matter more than any business deal, or any item we can purchase. It was our money, filtered through that store, that now helps fund Emmer's campaign. Target won't use my money to do that again.

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Randi Reitan is a mom and gay rights activist.

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