Franklin Graham -- the son of legendary evangelical leader Billy Graham, and current president of his father's ministry -- is urging Christian consumers to boycott Wells Fargo after the bank featured a lesbian couple in its latest ad.
In the spot, two young, professional woman are seen learning sign language in order to be able to communicate with a deaf girl. "We're going to be your new mommies," they sign as the voice-over indicates that Wells Fargo can help people prepare "for when two becomes three."
Instead of seeing the commercial for what it is -- a tender tribute to two hard-working women who are attempting to create a stable, nurturing environment for a disabled child -- Graham characterized it is as yet another example of "the tide of moral decay that is being crammed down our throats by big business, the media, and the gay & lesbian community."
"Every day it is something else!" he wrote. "Tiffany’s started advertising wedding rings for gay couples. Wells Fargo bank is using a same-sex couple in their advertising." But Christians need not worry, as "it just dawned on [Graham] that we don't have to do business with them."
Putting aside the fact that the power of a consumer boycott "just dawned on [him]," Graham's decision to use capitalism against a corporation could be an effective one. He announced that he is moving the accounts of his father's ministry from Wells Fargo to a bank that doesn't "promote sin and stand against Almighty God's laws and His standards."
"Maybe if enough of us do this, it will get their attention," he wrote. "Share this if you agree." As of this writing, 41,194 people evidently agree -- though whether they are all Wells Fargo customers who closed their accounts is up for debate. Salon spoke to a Wells Fargo customer service representative and asked whether she had noticed an increase in the number of people closing their accounts since Graham began this boycott on Friday.
She said that she had not, and that this was the first she had heard of any boycott.
Watch the entire ad below via Wells Fargo.
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