Ford disses GLBT groups, again

sovo.com: "Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, was among the gay leaders who met with Ford and said Monday night he was 'shocked and disturbed' by the company's statement.

'The statement from Ford does not begin to address the issues we discussed in our meeting,' said Giuliano. 'It clearly shows that they do not have an understanding of our positions, nor are they willing to distance themselves, and specifically correct, the statements that have been made by the AFA.'

Giuliano said gay leaders asked Ford to continue supporting gay organizations and events, continue using gay-specific imagery in ads for the company's Volvo brand placed in gay media, speficially disavow any deal made with the AFA on any of these points, and commit to continue advertising, at least at some level, the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the gay media. Giuliano called the last issue 'a deal-breaker' for the gay rights groups.

He said the Ford representatives verbally agreed to each of the requests, but that the statement failed to adequately address even one of them. He also faulted the company for not specifically mentioning in the statement Monday's meeting in Washington, D.C., with gay leaders or the company's commitment specifically to gay and lesbian consumers.

'They are clearly not reaching out to the LGBT community to try to correct what they led us to believe was a wrong impression' made by the AFA, claiming credit with influencing Ford's business decisions, Giuliano said.

'It's very disappointing and frustrating. It almost feels like we were played.'"