McDonald's Denounces Gays, Families Can Now Go Get Fat Again!

The American Family Association has called off a five-month boycott of Oak Brook-based McDonald's Corp. after a company executive left the board of a gay and lesbian business association.

The conservative Christian group had been calling for Richard Ellis, formerly McDonald's vice president of U.S. communications, to step down from the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Ellis recently left his U.S. post and returned to an executive position in McDonald's Canadian operation, McDonald's officials said. Because Ellis is based in Canada and the gay and lesbian chamber is a U.S. association, Ellis resigned from its board, said Bill Whitman, a McDonald's spokesman.

McDonald's doesn't plan to replace him. "We don't have a slot on the board to fill," said Jack Daly, McDonald's global chief communications officer. "Richard's decision to be a member of the board was a personal decision, not a company decision."

The American Family Association also said McDonald's notified it that the restaurant giant has no plans to renew its membership in the chamber when it expires at the end of the year.

Daly said the company is not a member of the chamber. McDonald's provided $20,000 to be one of the corporate sponsors of the chamber's annual fundraising gala, he said, but added that McDonald's has no plans to be a sponsor next year.

The economic impact of the boycott is unclear; McDonald's sales have continued to be strong. But Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, said the boycott was a success. "The fact of the matter is they've done what we've asked them to do," he said.

Via chicagotribune.com