Focus on the Family and the American Family Association want families to stop buying Crest toothpaste and Tide detergent - two of the company's best-known products - because of its support for Issue 3 on the Nov. 2 ballot. That issue would repeal Article XII of Cincinnati's charter, which prohibits City Council from passing a gay-rights ordinance.

"Procter & Gamble has really crossed a line when they take profits from products like Crest and Tide and give them to radical homosexual groups," said American Family Association spokesman Randy Sharp. "They're a company that sells soap. They should not get involved with a movement whose ultimate goal is gay marriage."

But Procter & Gamble says it has no such goal, and the conservative groups are confusing Issue 3 - a city anti-discrimination issue - with Issue 1, a state issue that would ban gay marriage.

"We think it's wrong that citizens of Cincinnati don't have an opportunity to approach their City Council about complaints they may have about discrimination they face.

"We simply feel it's wrong to discriminate," said spokesman Doug Shelton. "Repealing the amendment is in the best interests of the Cincinnati region, as we're the only city in the country with this kind of ordinance."

Shelton said neither group contacted the company before launching the boycott, and said the company has contacted them in an effort to "appeal to their sense of fairness and integrity."

The company got no response, he said.

The groups have set up an Internet site to support the boycott: pgboycott.com. As of late Friday, 100,281 people had agreed to honor the boycott and more were signing up at the rate of 1,000 an hour, the groups claimed.

A statement on the site acknowledges that Procter & Gamble has not "explicitly" expressed its support for gay marriage, but points to a statement from Procter & Gamble to its employees.

That statement said the company "will not tolerate discrimination in any form, against anyone, for any reason."

A ban on gay marriage, the boycotters said, is "discrimination for good reason."

"We know what they're saying," Sharp said. "The ultimate goal of the homosexual movement is same-sex marriage."

Procter & Gamble has supported the pro-Issue 3 Citizens to Restore Fairness with a $10,000 contribution.

"What you're seeing is some desperate attempts to mislead and confuse people about this law," said Gary Wright, the co-chairman of the campaign and a Procter & Gamble manager on leave from the company. "They know that people don't believe in discriminating against anybody. No matter what they think about gay marriage, they don't think people should be discriminated against in a job, housing, or at a restaurant. And that's what Article XII allows."

The Mississippi-based American Family Association has a long-running boycott of the Disney Co. for its gay-friendly policies and adult-entertainment divisions, and claims partial credit for the financial problems that may have led Disney CEO Michael Eisner to announce his retirement last week.

Focus on the Family, led by the Rev. James Dobson, is a Colorado-based Christian group that distributes Dobson's radio and television commentaries.

Both groups launched the boycott after prompting from Phil Burress, president of the Loveland-based Citizens for Community Values.

Procter & Gamble said it expects the boycott to have little effect.

Many customers have called the company's toll-free number requesting information about the company's support for Issue 3, Shelton said, and most are satisfied with the company's explanation.

---

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com