NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)-Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has taken another step away from its family oriented roots by entering a partnership with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a move the chamber's president said Wal-Mart initiated.

As part of the deal, Wal-Mart will pay the chamber $25,000 a year for sponsorship of events and initiatives and has agreed to conduct workshops for homosexual business owners on how to break into the Wal-Mart supplier ranks, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times Aug. 25.

Randy Sharp, a spokesman for the American Family Association, told the Morning News of northwest Arkansas that he has stopped shopping at Wal-Mart because it has moved away from its pro-family stance.

"Up until a year and a half ago, the AFA applauded Wal-Mart for their pro-family policies, but now it seems Wal-Mart has decided to push aside that legacy left by [founder] Sam Walton and joined those who look at the bottom line and stock prices," Sharp said.

Wal-Mart contends the partnership with a homosexual group is in line with the Bentonville, Ark.-based company's efforts to expand beyond their rural southern roots into urban areas where shoppers are more diverse. Company spokesman Bob McAdam even said Wal-Mart has worked with other homosexual groups such as the Human Rights Campaign and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the Times reported.

"I don't think this is something that will sell on Main Street America, where most Wal-Mart stores are located," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said of the latest move. "I don't think cheap prices on goods from China will be enough to stop a rollback in their customer base if they choose to go down this aisle."

With more than 3,900 stores in the United States, Wal-Mart had been considered family friendly for several reasons. For instance, in 2002 they stopped selling a pregnant Barbie doll because people were concerned it would promote teen pregnancy, and the following year they agreed to stop carrying three particular racy magazines.

In related news, Wal-Mart also is under fire for joining grocery store chains like Albertson's, Kroger and Safeway and restaurants including Chili's, Red Lobster and Olive Garden in pushing dry counties to legalize the sale of alcohol in order to increase revenue.

A New York Times report Aug. 12 examined the trend of dry towns in the Bible Belt giving in to political campaigns funded by national corporations that are more interested in the economic benefits of alcohol sales than in the safety and morality of citizens.

Since 2002, businesses have spent more than $15 million on campaigns to persuade voters in about 200 dry towns and 25 dry counties in six southern states to legalize alcohol sales in stores and restaurants, The Times reported.

Wal-Mart has financed "dozens of elections," The Times noted, and has contributed from $5,000 to $20,000 per campaign, often making the claim that increased tax revenue from beer sales would reduce the need for property tax increases.

"I think Sam Walton, being the family oriented man he was, would be rolling over in his grave about this," Ronnie Frankens, pastor of Homer Pentecostal Church in Diboll, Texas, told The Times about Wal-Mart's founder.