[GPSCC-chat] Fw: Jelly Belly is funding hate in California

[John Thielking]

FYI


----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Ash McCollam via CREDO Mobilize <act at credoaction.com>
To: John Thielking <pagesincolor at yahoo.com> 
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 11:03 AM
Subject: Jelly Belly is funding hate in California
 


  
The email below is from Ash McCollam, a CREDO activist in Los Angeles. Ash started a petition on CREDO Mobilize, where activists can launch their own campaigns for progressive change. Will you help Ash pressure Herman G. Rowland, chairman of Jelly Belly Candy Company, to stop using his company profits to fund discrimination by signing his petition and sharing it with your friends and family?  

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Tell Jelly Belly: Stop spending profits on hate  

   
Dear John, 
When you think of jelly beans, you probably don't think of bigotry and discrimination. But the chairman of candy company Jelly Belly has donated thousands of dollars to roll back a law recently passed in California to prevent discrimination and hate against transgender students. 
This isn't the first time that Rowland has donated money to anti-gay causes. In 2012, he even hosted a rally for virulent homophobe Rick Santorum at Jelly Belly's factory in Fairfield, California. 
As a customer of Jelly Belly, I'm disappointed and outraged that my money is being used to fund hate. That's why I started my own campaign on CREDOMobilize.com, which allows activists to start their own petitions. My petition, which is to Herman G. Rowland, chairman of the board of Jelly Belly Candy Company, says the following: 
Selling your products to customers like me--customers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or allies--and then donating your profits to people who want to discriminate against us is hurtful and wrong. Pledge to stop donating to groups that promote discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the future and take back your $5,000 contribution to a group working on a statewide ballot initiative to repeal a humane and necessary new law that ensures transgender students have equal access to education in California.
Tell Jelly Belly's chairman to stop funding discrimination 
For years, schools in California disregarded the gender identification of transgender students. But in August, Gov. Brown signed AB 1266 into law, requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use public bathrooms, locker rooms, and join sports teams that match their gender identity. This law sets a precedent of tolerance and equality for schools around the country--a precedent that the extreme right and Jelly Belly's chairman want to reverse. 
A coalition of conservative groups is already mobilizing, using Jelly Belly Chairman Herman G. Rowland's $5,000 donation to smear the new law and roll back protections which will result in transgender students continuing to be bullied and isolated in their schools. 
I know the pain these students experience, because I was bullied for being transgender too. I was bullied since kindergarten for something I couldn't understand. I was isolated by parents and friends I expected to be on my side, and was treated like an outcast. Jelly Belly Chairman Rowland and his right-wing friends can't possibly understand the psychological trauma transgender kids experience, but he shouldn’t  perpetuate that trauma with this political effort to roll back California’s new law to protect kids. 
In the wake of last week's announcement that these extremists collected enough signatures to put the repeal of AB 1266 on the ballot, it's more important than ever that we fight back.1 If you sign my petition, we can make sure Jelly Belly Chairman Herman G. Rowland understands that supporting campaigns that stand for discrimination against his customers will be a costly decision. 
Will you join me and add your name to my petition to Herman G. Rowland, chairman of Jelly Belly, to demand he stop donating to groups that promote discrimination? 
Thank you for your support. 
Ash McCollam    
	1. "Opponents Of California Transgender Student Rights Law Get Signatures To Repeal," CBS Local, 11/10/13 

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