By Ed Vitagliano and Fred Jackson
May 11, 2001

(AgapePress) - Homosexuals determined to keep The Walt Disney Company firmly on their side are once again scheduled to descend on the Mouse's famed Orlando theme park for "Gay Days at Disney."

As has been the custom throughout most of the 1990s, Disney is unofficially hosting the series of events which accompany the tens of thousands of homosexuals who visit Walt Disney World. The summer event is again the anchor for what has become a week-long homosexual festival.

While Disney has been extremely protective of its trademarked characters and logos in other instances, slightly altered forms of the Mickey Mouse logo have been used over the years by the official website for the celebration, www.gayday.com. The American Family Association, which called for a boycott of Disney five years ago, sees Disney's lack of zeal in protecting their trademark in this case as a tacit endorsement of the event by the company.

Homosexuals have rented many of Disney's facilities for events and get-togethers. For example, Disney has rented out both Mannequins Dance Palace and 8TRAX for "gay" dancing for several nights during Gay Days.

AFA President Donald Wildmon said Gay Day was one of the major reasons AFA initiated a boycott of the entertainment giant. "Disney rakes in hundreds of thousands of dollars through this celebration of homosexuality," he said. "That's as reprehensible as if Disney had hosted Prostitute Day or Pedophilia Days at the Magic Kingdom."

The American Family Association called for the boycott of The Walt Disney Company in the early months of 1996, and has been joined in the effort by several Christian denominations, including the Southern Baptist Convention, General Council of the Assemblies of God, Congregational Holiness Church, and the Free Will Baptists. A number of Christian pro-family groups -- like Concerned Women for America, Catholics United for the Faith, and Focus on the Family -- also joined. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights actually called for a Disney boycott earlier than AFA, in 1995.

Parents can call Disney World (1-818-560-1000) to find out when Gay Days are scheduled.

Juice Commercial
Disney is not the only supposedly "family friendly" company that appears to be trying to woo the homosexual consumer. A pro-family group now says it is concerned that Minute Maid, a unit of Coca-Cola, may be using cartoon characters in its commercials to spread homosexual themes to kids.

Robert Knight of the Culture and Family Institute tells USA Today that there are a lot of choices in orange juice -- and he says if parents think their children are being targeted by a homosexual campaign, they will switch brands without blinking. According to the newspaper, the focus of this concern is a Minute Maid commercial where cartoon characters Popeye and Bluto seemingly show more interest in each other than the female character, Olive Oyl.

A spokesman for Minute Maid says people are reading too much into the spot. But Cathy Renna with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation says "the innuendo" in the commercial is clearly resonating with the homosexual community. She says the spot fits with Madison Avenue's "wink, wink" approach to gay and lesbian consumers.

© 2001 AgapePress all rights reserved.

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