Tim's and Gay Marriage

The story below may well reflect nothing more than a local oversight. After all, when a charity approaches a Tim's to sponsor an event there may be little close screening. Here someone may have assumed the organization was more for families generally than against a specific kind of family. Indeed, if I had to guess I might think the National Organization for Marriage supports Gay rights.

And remember, the KKK has renamed itself specifically so that it can get legitimate support from people who don't know who they are supporting.

That said, Tim's acted quickly and made it clear they are not supporting religious or political groups (so does that mean no coffee urns at Church picnics???). (And to my mind coffee urns at Church picnics is a good thing -- but to support a group devoted to opposing Gay marriage is not.)

Anyway, the lesson is, when you give to charity make sure you know who you're giving to!!!

Tim Hortons pulls support for anti-gay marriage eventCanadian icon Tim Hortons found itself under fire Monday after a Rhode Island franchise initially sponsored an event for a U.S. anti-gay marriage group.

Tim Hortons was listed as a sponsor for the Aug. 16 event in Warwick, R.I., for the National Organization for Marriage, which is one of the largest anti-gay marriage lobby groups in the U.S.
There was an immediate backlash online from the gay and lesbian community, with more than 1,600 people signing up for a petition at Change.org asking Tim Hortons to withdraw its support for the event.

By Monday afternoon, the company announced that the Rhode Island franchise would not be sponsoring the event because it would be against its corporate policy to support religious or political groups.

"It has come to our attention that the Rhode Island event organizer and purpose of the event fall outside of our sponsorship guidelines. As such, Tim Hortons can not provide support at the event," the company said on its website. "We apologize for any misunderstanding or inconvenience this may have caused.

"As a company, our primary focus is on helping children and supporting fundraising events for non-profit organizations and registered charities. For this reason, Tim Hortons has not sponsored those representing religious groups, political affiliates or lobby groups."
According to the company, more than 95 per cent of its stores are independently owned, and the "final decision to make a donation is at the discretion of the store owner," says the company's website.