A nasty surprise for Target, Inc. as a petition to boycott the store over their transgender bathroom policies has now gathered more than a million signatures.

It's clear executives at the retailer failed to judge the strong, negative reaction against the policy. 

Fox News:

The American Family Association launched a boycott of the nation’s second largest retailer a week ago – over Target’s corporate policy allowing men who identify as women to use the bathrooms and fitting rooms of their choosing.

“We believe that everyone – every team member, every guest, and every community – deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally,” the company wrote in a statement. “Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination.”

American Family Association, one of the most prominent and respected family advocacy groups in the nation, warned that Target’s policy puts women and children in danger.

“Nearly everyone has a mother, wife, daughter or friend who is put in jeopardy by this policy,” AFA President Tim Wildmon said. “Predators and voyeurs would take advantage of the policy to prey on those who are vulnerable.”

And it’s pretty clear that more than a million customers agree with the American Family Association.

“Everybody knows it’s wrong for men to use the same bathrooms and fitting rooms with little girls,” Wildmon told me. “Target has decided they don’t care about the vast majority. They only care about the tiny, tiny minority.”

The American Family Association stressed that their boycott has nothing to do with the transgender community. 

“We want to make it very clear that AFA does not believe the transgender community poses this danger to the wider public,” Wildmon said. “Rather, this misguided and reckless policy provides a possible gateway for predators who are out there.”

Target won't dare backtrack now, so they appear to be trapped between transgender radicals and the bulk of ordinary Americans. Trans people may not think it a big deal that a man uses the women's room, but the majority of Americans do.

Target's stock prices are down $4.74 this week. The boycott may be partially responsible, but there are many reasons for a stock decline so the notion that the company's bathroom policies are affecting its bottom line is unprovable. 

But the avalanche of bad publicity will impact Target's core customer base; white, middle class Americans. If even one in ten of those petition signers carries through with a boycott, Target will lose a significant amount of money.