• NY Times, Tuesday, December 6, 2005 12:27 PM

Ford is responding to threats of a product boycott by a conservative religious organization by pulling ads for its Jaguar and Land Rover from gay publications. The automaker said the move was part of a cost-cutting measure, but it came a week after Ford met with members of the American Family Association. After Ford's decision was announced, AFA chairman Donald E. Wildmon said, "They've heard our concerns. They are acting on our concerns." Ford's decision to cut back the ads has troubled gay rights activists, who pointed out that the company provides the same benefits for homosexual couples that it does for heterosexuals. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group, said, "I can only hope that this is a case of a large corporation, and the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, and this will in very short order be cleared up."

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