Late yesterday afternoon, a small bomb went off in a Target bathroom in Evanston, Illinois. No one was hurt, thankfully, but the culprit and motive are still unknown. Police are trying to figure out of there’s any connection between the incident and the recent push by some Christian groups to slam Target for its trans-inclusive bathroom policy:

Target has been criticized recently for its stand on allowing people in the LGBT community to choose whichever bathroom they identify mostly with, either male or female, stating the company welcomes, “transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.” In response, more than 1.3 million people signed an online petition promising to boycott Target. Evanston police say they have not ruled out the explosive device planted here may somehow be connected.

Here’s what’s really striking about this story:

It’s been nearly 24 hours since the bomb went off. Even though there’s no connection (yet) between the bomb and the American Family Association (the group organizing that online petition against Target), the AFA has been absolutely silent on the matter.

No press release. No Facebook statement. Not even a tweet.

They could easily have said something like this:

All of us at the AFA are horrified that a bomb went off in a Target store on Wednesday, and we pray that no one affiliated with or supportive of our organization was involved in the incident. We certainly don’t condone the action. Even though we have strong disagreements with Target about their bathroom policy, we believe in civil discourse and an honest exchange of ideas. Violence is never a solution. Jesus loves you. Let’s cure all LGBT people. Yada yada yada.

How hard would that have been?

Apparently very hard since they haven’t done it yet.

Because, for them, transgender people are still more of a threat to Target customers than someone who plants a bomb in the bathroom.

***Update***: A 44-year-old woman is in policy custody. The police add that “there is no indication that the incident is related to any policies that the Target store has in place.” I still think the AFA would be wise to condemn the incident.

(Image via Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com)



