Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of Family Equality Council, released the following statement to our supporters yesterday, June 25, 2008:

Dear Friends and Families,

What a powerful community we are! Just three weeks ago, on Thursday, June 5, it was brought to my attention that hate group Focus on the Family was using the TiVo logo and products to support a “Super Dad” contest. The Family Equality Council immediately responded, informing our supporters and the press that we would not stand for companies like TiVo, whose services we use in our very homes, to align themselves and their brand with groups that daily work to undermine our families’ lives.

To date, over 1,000 LGBT parents, family members and friends have signed onto our statement, demanding that TiVo dissolve its partnership with Focus on the Family and apologize for the offense. I have been in direct talks with TiVo executives for more than a week. I want to share with you the outcomes of our conversations and assure you that our voices are being HEARD!

TiVo is deeply embarrassed. Until this past week, the company has had an “affiliate” relationship with Focus on the Family, which means that Focus on the Family had access to TiVo’s corporate logo so they could promote TiVo products, possibly in exchange for compensation from TiVo. In the minds of TiVo executives, allowing groups like Focus on the Family to use TiVo’s corporate logo implied only that these organizations supported TiVo and its products, not the other way around. Hearing our supporters’ voices, TiVo executives realized that associations are a two-way street.

In direct response to our families’ actions, TiVo has stated that “we do not endorse the ideological views of any organization,” and from now on will no longer allow blanket access to their corporate identity. In other words, TiVo understands that aligning itself with a hate group is bad for business, bad for people and is simply wrong. TiVo has also directed Focus on the Family to remove its branding from the “Super Dads” contest and has taken down its own Focus on the Family affiliate web page.

I’m happy to report that TiVo has maintained an open dialogue with us as we’ve worked to educate them on the value of all families and the need to represent all of its customers equally. And while this dialogue has been positive, productive and responsive, the question of whether TiVo will continue to have a business relationship with Focus on the Family or similar groups in the future is unclear. We have given TiVo ample opportunity to clarify their position on this issue and to date they have declined.

I’m extremely proud of our families and supporters for making their voices heard. I’m especially proud of the LGBT dads, their family members and friends, who leapt over the emotional hurdle of sharing their personal information with Focus on the Family in order to submit “Super Dad” nominations on the group’s website. To honor these nominations, which Focus on the Family refused to publish on their website, we have created an area on our website at http://www.familyequality.org/superdads to showcase our supporters’ powerful stories.

In my conversations with TiVo I made it clear that we as an LGBT family community are not in the business of punishing companies. Rather our community seeks equality and inclusion in all aspects of life. We want our governments to grant us basic rights, to allow us to nurture and protect our families, and we want companies like TiVo to equally value our support of their services. I’m pleased that TiVo has recognized its mistake in allowing Focus on the Family to push a discriminatory contest with its name. I’ll be fully satisfied when all companies understand that Focus on the Family and similar groups are not simply “controversial,” but directly target and attack our lives.

Thank you and your families for being exactly who you are and sharing your real lives with the world.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Chrisler
Executive Director, Family Equality Council

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