Now Defending Gay Marriage: Cheerios

Politics may be coming to the cereal aisle. General Mills jumped into the gay marriage debate Wednesday, as CEO Ken Powell appeared at an LGBT pride event to declare the company's opposition to a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in its home state of Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "We value diversity. We value inclusion," a company VP wrote in a follow-up letter online, saying the ban wouldn't be "in the best interests of our employees or our state economy."

The National Organization for Marriage was incensed, and yesterday raised a hue and cry against the cereal maker. "General Mills makes billions marketing cereal to parents of young children. It has now effectively declared a war on marriage with its own customers," its president said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. He predicted the move would go down "as one of the dumbest corporate PR stunts of all time." Marriage equality activists, however, praised the move. "The business case against this amendment is straightforward and powerful," one said. (More General Mills stories.)