Target just took a big step for transgender customers

Target is getting widespread praise after announcing that it would welcome transgender customers to use any bathroom or fitting room that matches their gender identity.

The chain said Tuesday that it wanted to clarify its position on the issue, in light of recent debates in state legislatures across the country around the appropriateness of transgender bathrooms.

"We welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity," the retailer said in a statement. "Everyone deserves to feel like they belong. And you'll always be accepted, respected and welcomed at Target."

Target's statement included a redesigned version of its signature bullseye logo to include a rainbow.

The move won Target a lot of praise on social media.

"You have, again, shown that your stores are inclusive and meant to be a safe haven, and I intend to repay your loyalty with my own," one customer wrote on Target's Facebook page.

Another customer wrote, "I want to tell you that I will forever be a Target shopper." A third said, "Thank you for always being a place I have felt welcomed."

Not all the feedback was positive, however.

"I am appalled by your decision," wrote one customer. "Shame on you."

Dozens said they would never shop at Target again as a result of the policy.

"Shame on Target," one critic wrote. "Restrooms have placards depicting gender on them for a reason. I will not step foot in another Target."

Target is following in the footsteps of Kroger, which also recently clarified its policy on gender-specific bathrooms.

A Kroger in Athens, Georgia, posted a sign on its bathroom door saying: "We have a UNISEX bathroom because sometimes gender specific toilets put others into uncomfortable situations."

A customer snapped a photo of the sign and posted it to Facebook, where the post went viral.

Companies are starting to weigh in on transgender issues after the governor of North Carolina signed a bill in late March forcing people to use the bathroom that corresponds with the sex listed on their birth certificate.

In Minnesota, where Target is headquartered, a Republican state senator proposed a bill that would limit access to restrooms and dressing rooms based on individuals' "biological sex."