Virginia, the Virginia GOP and Family Foundation Trashed in Foreign Press; Bigotry is Bad for Business

The seemingly pea size brains of the misogynist in the Virginia GOP and the Christofascists at The Family Foundation never seem to get it that their hate, bigotry and intolerance do not go unnoticed and that the image of the Commonwealth of Virginia nationally and worldwide is damaged every time they make the state look like a a bigoted, intolerant backwater.   Apparently, in their rush to return Virginia to the 17th century, they never stop to look at the economic toll.  What modern progressive business in its right mind will relocate to a state that seems to pride itself on backwardness.  One need only look at the economic status of Mississippi and Alabama - which seem to be the model for the Virginia GOP and its theocratic allies - to see how backwardness, bigotry and religious extremism are not good for business.  The Guardian (a UK newspaper) has coverage on the Tracy Thorne-Begland "lynching" and none of it's pretty.  Perhaps the most mind numbing aspect id The Family Foundation playing the victim and saying others had resorted to name calling - this from an organization that never tells the truth and lies about LGBT citizens daily.  Here's a sampling of the coverage:  

Senior Democrats expressed their dismay and outrage at the vote in the House of Delegates to reject a prominent local prosecutor, Tracy Thorne-Begland, for a vacancy on the Richmond circuit court. The decision instantly engulfed Virginia in the toxic fumes of the gay marriage debate sweeping America. 

The block on the appointment of Thorne-Begland, 45, has thrown Virginia into the centre of the debate about the legal status of gay and lesbian Americans.

The LGBT civil rights group Lambda Legal said the Virginia action was part of a broader strategy across the nation to undermine fairness and impartiality within the judiciary. Eric Lesh, of the group's fair courts project, said that up to now the focus had been on specific court rulings, such as the judgment of US district judge Vaughn Walker blocking California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.

Much attention in the Virginia dispute is being paid to a socially conservative group called the Family Foundation that actively campaigned against Thorne-Begland ahead of the vote. The gay rights group Equality Virginia accused Family Foundation of peddling "fear mongering and shrill personal attacks".

Family Foundation hit back with a statement that charged liberals with resorting to "mean-spirited name-calling, misinformation and bullying. After losing election after election, you would think Virginia's left would finally figure out that they are on the wrong side of these issues."

Mean spirited ought to be Victoria Cobb's middle name.  The woman and her foul organization, in my opinion, are a menace to religious freedom in Virginia.  And as an article in the New York Times noted last week, naked anti-gay bigotry such as was demonstrated by North Carolina's passage of Amendment One and now this bigotry here in Virginia carries a business price.  Here are highlights from the Times  article:

[T]here’s mounting evidence that a state’s support for same-sex marriage yields important benefits for business, especially with the younger, highly educated, affluent population avidly courted by most employers. Brian Ellner, who led the successful Human Rights Campaign for marriage equality in New York, said, “We heard over and over from the C.E.O.’s of major corporations that they don’t want any impediments to recruiting the best people, period, whether they’re people who want to live in a tolerant city or state or gay people who want to live where they feel their families will be protected and safe.”

He described business support in New York as enormously important. “They’re the job creators and the engines of the economy and so important to the health and well-being of the state. And they were on our side.” 

In Washington State, where same-sex marriages are scheduled to begin June 7 unless opponents gather enough signatures to force a referendum, major employers have been sounding similar themes.  Starbucks said in January as the state Legislature was considering allowing same-sex marriage that it “strives to create a company culture that puts our partners first, and our company has a lengthy history of leading and supporting policies that promote equality and inclusion.” Microsoft, the first Fortune 500 company to provide same-sex domestic partnership benefits in 1993, said, “Washington’s employers are at a disadvantage if we cannot offer a similar, inclusive environment to our talented employees, our top recruits and their families” as states that permit same-sex marriage. “Employers in the technology sector,” it went on, “face an unprecedented national and global competition for top talent.”

It’s not just about gay people, because the truth is, there aren’t enough gay people to make a huge impact. But it signals a kind of openness to people who are different. It sends a signal to people, straight or gay, that this is a place where they can potentially thrive. That’s especially critical for companies that rely on people who have to be creative, entrepreneurial and innovative.” 

There is data to suggest that members of the so-called creative class, a phrase coined by Richard Florida in his 2003 book “The Rise of the Creative Class,” with an updated version due out next month, are disproportionately influenced by a state’s attitude on issues like same-sex marriage. This group, which Mr. Florida estimates at more than 35 million people, tends to be mobile, affluent and well educated. “These people have choices,” Mr. Ellner noted, “and if you’re gay and you can be married in New York or Boston, would you opt for that over North Carolina? Of course you would.” 

Mr. Florida, now a professor at the University of Toronto, and Mr. Gates collaborated on a 2002 study for the Brookings Institution, called “Technology and Tolerance: The Importance of Diversity to High-Technology Growth.” The two concluded that “perhaps our most striking finding is that a leading indicator of a metropolitan area’s high-technology success is a large gay population.” They continued, “Frequently cited as a harbinger of redevelopment and gentrification in distressed urban neighborhoods, the presence of gays in a metro area signals a diverse and progressive environment.”

The Virginia GOP has sent a very loud message to the very people that Virginia ought to be seeking to attract that if they are smart, they will go elsewhere.  It's little wonder that in the local LGBT community that smart, talented gays and their allies seek to leave Hampton Roads at the first opportunity.  It's also why Hampton Roads has a brain drain of young college educated people.  If one wants to join Alabama and Mississippi in their usual dead last rankings, then the Virginia GOP is on target.  If one wants progress and a thriving economy, then the Virginia GOP needs to be thrown out of control of Virginia.