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Big and regional banks are embracing gay pride month, sponsoring festivals in New York, San Francisco and other major cities throughout June as well as sending employees and executives to participate in parades and promote an inclusive image to consumers.
June 13
Evangelist Franklin Graham said he will close his ministries' accounts at Wells Fargo after the bank ran advertisements featuring a lesbian couple, the
Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, said Wells Fargo was using shareholders' dollars to promote homosexuality. Graham's decision to close his Wells Fargo accounts is part of his wider effort to boycott companies that feature same-sex relationships in commercials.
"Let's just stop doing business with those who promote sin and stand against Almighty God's laws and His standards," Graham wrote on his Facebook account.
Graham is chief executive of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Charlotte, N.C., where Wells Fargo has its largest concentration of employees. Graham also leads Samaritan's Purse in Boone, N.C. Graham said he's closing both organizations' Wells Fargo accounts and has chosen the financial institution that will receive the funds, which could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Graham declined to identify the financial institution, the Observer story said.
A Wells Fargo spokeswoman said the bank has proudly supported the LGBT community for a long time.
"Our advertising content reflects our company's values and represents the diversity of the communities we serve," spokeswoman Christina Kolbjornsen told the Observer.
Wells Fargo's ad, which has appeared on TV and online, features a lesbian couple learning sign language for their adopted daughter. "We're going to be your new mommies," the couple tell the girl.
Graham "is on the quickly losing side of moral history," said Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, an LGBT rights group.
