Gay Community Seething at Gold's Gym Politics

Four gyms in the San Francisco area plan to sever ties with the Gold's Gym franchise because of the owner's hefty political contribution to a conservative group perceived as anti-gay, reports the Huffington Post. The move comes amid growing fallout in the gay community over Robert Rowling's donation of $2 million to American Crossroads, which is funneling big money to GOP candidates. (Click here for more on that in Salon.)

With the backlash growing, the four San Francisco gyms say they'll ditch the Gold's Gym name when their contracts expire in 2012 and ramp up contributions to same-sex causes in the meantime. "For every dollar we pay Gold's Gym in franchise fees we will donate an equal or greater amount to LGBT charities," their joint director wrote on Facebook. "Our management and staff will continue to support LGBT causes in every way possible and we will use our business as a platform to fight for change and equality for everyone."
(More Gold's Gym stories.)