Thomson Reuters Opposes Minnesota's Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment

The list of companies that the Bible thumping hate merchants at American Family Association and its Christiofascist allies need to boycott just keeps on growing.  While no where near as powerful or with as strong a grip on global business, Thomson Reuters has joined the list of progressive companies that are opposing the effort of the hate family values organizations that seek to drag America back into a Middle Ages mindset and force same sex couples into a 4th class citizenship status.  Minnesota United for All Families has issued a press release on this latest slap in the face to the knuckle dragging forces of the far right.  Here are highlights:

Thomson Reuters, a company with thousands of employees in Minnesota, announced today that it firmly and clearly opposes the proposed constitutional amendment that would limit the freedom to marry for committed, same-sex couples in our state. With its historic announcement today, Thomson Reuters joins Fortune 500 companies General Mills and St. Jude Medical in opposing this freedom-limiting marriage amendment.

This news comes on the heels of a statement from leaders of seven major Minnesota law firms in opposition to this amendment, saying in the Star Tribune today that, “the marriage amendment endangers our business climate, signaling that ours is a community that does not welcome members of the LGBT community. This directly impacts Minnesota businesses, including law firms, which are dependent on attracting and retaining the best and brightest talent, regardless of sexual orientation.”

Thomson Reuters said, “As we’ve heard from employees, recruiters and customers, one thing has been very clear: we’re a better place when we have a rich variety of perspectives, talents, backgrounds, lifestyles and experiences in our workplace, and within the broader community from which we recruit. We believe that building a culture that thrives on diversity and inclusion and provides equal opportunities to everyone is a critical factor in our ability to serve our customers and be successful. …We believe the Minnesota Marriage Amendment, if passed, would limit our ability to recruit and retain top talent. For this reason, we do not believe that the Amendment would be good for Thomson Reuters or the business community in the state.”

The law firms noted in the Star Tribune piece include among others Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP, a large international firm for which I have served as local counsel in the past.  Here's portion of what these legal powerhouses had to say on the vicious anti-gay amendment on the ballot in November:

As leaders of law firms, we write in our individual capacities to express our personal opposition to the Minnesota marriage amendment that will be on the ballot this fall.

The marriage amendment would embed in the Minnesota Constitution a definition of marriage as being solely between one man and one woman. In so doing, it strives to prevent future judicial or legislative action that could allow our gay and lesbian citizens to marry and enjoy a right that is available to all others.

 

As lawyers, we also believe that this issue is more important than just its impact to the business climate. The amendment uses the ballot to restrict the rights of our fellow citizens, and to embed those restrictions in our state Constitution. Simply put, it is a bad precedent to use the Constitution to deny the civil liberties of a few.

We will be voting "no" on the marriage amendment and encourage our fellow members of the bar to join us.

Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer Each Donate $100,000 for Marriage Equality

The Bible beaters and the One Million Bitches definitely need to expand their boycott of gay friendly corporations.  The question is, whether there be anything left that they can purchase.  JC Penney, Sears, Ford, Walgreens, Starbucks and a host off other companies are supportive of gay rights and marriage equality.  Over the weekend, I even received a brochure from the Danbury Mint for gay marriage Christmas ornaments.  Now, Bill Gates and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer have each contributed $100,00 to help defeat Referendum 74, which seeks to overturn the law allowing same-sex marriage in Washington state that was enacted earlier this year.  One has to wonder how these boycotting bigots will even be able to e-mail their threats and protests if they avoid all Microsoft products.  Here are highlights from the Seattle Times:  

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer are each donating $100,000 to support the campaign to uphold Washington state's new gay marriage law, according to The Associated Press.

That law, which was passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire in February, faces a referendum vote in November.

The AP cites Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, who says the checks were cut on Friday and are being reported to the state Public Disclosure Commission Monday afternoon.

Microsoft has been supportive of gay marriage, signing on to a letter in January with other prominent local companies urging the Legislature to pass the gay-marriage bill. In November, it had joined with about 70 major companies nationwide in a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

And with Apple also being supportive of marriage equality, the bigots don't even have the alternative of using their Macs to spread their hate and bigotry.   If the anti-gay forces want to inflict Bronze Age writings and myths on all of society, it is perhaps appropriate that they be forced to use Bronze Age technology.

Mayor Molly Ward Easily Wins Re-Election in Hampton, Virginia

Our good friend and wonderful LGBT supportive ally Molly Ward (pictured at left) easily won re-election as the City of Hampton's Mayor by a margin of more than 64% to 34% defeating her challenger, City Council member Donnie Tuck.  Molly has been welcoming to HRBOR and the LGBT community unlike some in the various local governments in the Hampton Roads area (which has seven separate cities) "gets it" that to truly move forward, all residents, including LGBT residents and minorities, need to be embraced and welcomed and participants in the city's direction.   Unfortunately, as best I can tell, her opponent courted conservative churches and pushed a divisive message during the campaign.  The election results confirm that the great majority of Hampton residents reject that kind of message and that the "good old boy" policies of the past need to be replaced with progressive, forward thinking.  Here are highlights from the Daily Press:

Mayor Molly Joseph Ward easily won re-election Tuesday night, defeating City Councilman Donnie Tuck by a wide margin.  Ward was first elected to the mayoral seat in 2008. She previously served as the city's treasurer.  During her tenure in office, Fort Monroe was named by President Barack Obama as a National Park Service monument.

Ward has said her greatest strengths include her ability to lobby state and regional officials to help further the city's goals. Ward also serves as chair of the board of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, a group that sets plans for regional transportation policy.

Tuck's critics have said, however, that he lacked the ability to gather support needed to change the City Council's direction.

"Grossing Up" to End Employment Benefit Inequities

Often I encounter those from out side the LGBT community who ask why same sex couples cannot settle for something less than "marriage" and thereby avoid at least of the culture war assaults from the far right. The question has a few ready answers. First, assuming one is willing to throw away a desires for legal equality, the far right will not readily allow same sex couples to have any recognition whatsoever of their relationships. For example, Virginia's vile Marshall-Newman Amendment bars recognition of anything legal status that tries to approximate the rights of marriage. And Virginia's constitutional amendment is not unique in this regard. Of equal importance is the fact that the word "marriage" triggers so many rights and legal advantages that "civil union" or "domestic partnership" fail to provide. One huge area is in terms of employment benefits and health care insurance coverage in particular - a same sex spouse gets taxed on such coverage whereas a "spouse" does not. Fortunately, a growing number of large companies are taking steps to reduce the inequity by "grossing up" - in simple terms, paying - the tax impact. An article in the New York Times looks at this trend. Here are highlights:
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[A] growing number of companies have taken it upon themselves to make life a little more equal for their gay employees. These companies are reaching into their own pockets to pay for an extra tax that their gay employees owe on their partners’ health insurance — something that their married heterosexual co-workers don’t have to worry about because the federal government recognizes them as an economic unit.
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To gay employees, gaining equal benefits is about more than the money. The gesture itself validates their relationship with their partners at a time when the government has not. Most heterosexuals take for granted that they can add a spouse or children to their employer’s health plan. But gay employees with partners have that option only if they work for an organization that offers domestic partner coverage. And even when the coverage is available, it costs gay couples more because they are taxed on the value of those benefits.
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“It very quickly became a litmus test among employees for how welcoming their firm was,” said Daryl Herrschaft, director of the workplace project at the Human Rights Campaign. “A lot of folks were very proud of their companies and wanted to tell a lot of people, and in doing so, it sparked some competition.”
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The competition has become most apparent in a handful of industries, notably law firms, big consulting companies and in Silicon Valley. More Wall Street firms, meanwhile, are said to be considering the policy.
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[T]t wasn’t until Google started compensating its employees last June that the movement really began to take off. Apple, Facebook, Barclays, McKinsey and Bain & Company are some of the prominent names that followed suit. Even more companies have said they publicly support same-sex marriage or equal financial treatment for gay couples, but they haven’t gone as far as adopting the policy. About 58 percent of Fortune 500 companies extend domestic partner coverage to employees with same-sex partners,

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One of the biggest obstacles to adopting the gross up policy has been concern about the cost and legal implications. Will people rush to sign up? Many firms, for instance, decided to make only same-sex employees with domestic partners eligible since opposite-sex couples have the option to marry.
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Generally, it would cost an employer about $2,000 to $2,500 to gross up an employee who incurred extra taxes of $1,200 to $1,500, according to Joseph S. Adams, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery who specializes in employee benefits. The numbers will vary depending on several factors, including the employee’s tax bracket and state of residence.
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With more companies adopting the more generous policy, others are now looking at whether they’re offering the basics for gay employees. As Cynthia Yeung, a San Francisco resident who is on the steering committee of her employer’s L.G.B.T. group, put it, “When you raise the bar, everyone has to jump a little higher to be average.”

Hawaii Civil Unions Bill Awaits Governor's Signature

Today the Hawaii Senate followed the action of the House and voted to approve civil unions legislation that will afford same sex couples virtually all of the rights of civil law marriage. Now the bill heads to the Governor' office where Governor Neil Abercrombie has said he will sign the measure into law - unlike his hypocritical, twice divorced Republican predecessor who vetoed similar legislation lat year. Hopefully, the Maryland legislature will soon follow suit and bring full marriage to the other side of the Potomac. Here are highlights from the Honolulu Star Advertiser on today's events:
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The Hawaii Senate took its final step in clearing the way to grant same-sex couples virtually the same rights and privileges of traditional marriage, giving approval today to a bill legalizing civil unions. Senate Bill 232 was approved by a 18-5 vote.
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It now goes to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who supports civil unions and has promised to sign the bill into law. "I have always believed that civil unions respect our diversity, protect people's privacy, and reinforce our core values of equality and aloha," Abercrombie said in a statement after the vote.
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Hawaii becomes the seventh state to grant civil unions to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself. Five states and Washington, D.C., permit same-sex marriage.
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"Today is a momentous day," said Sen. Clayton Hee. "There is no denying that by this action Hawaii takes a significant step towards true equality." Senate Bill 232 allows all couples -- same-sex and heterosexual -- to enter into a civil union, a legal status with all the rights, benefits, protections and responsibilities as traditional marriage.
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Twelve states now grant their LGBT citizens some form of basic equality to all their citizens. Meanwhile backwaters like Virginia give way to religious extremists and bigotry and give their best and brightest good reason to head to more progressive states. And yet Hampton Roads wonders why it has a brain drain and a net loss of college graduates.

Think Twice When Shopping - Who's for Equality and Who's Not

Human Rights Campaign has released its 2011 "Buying for Workplace Equality Report" and it's eye opening if one takes the time to review various categories of goods and services. Many companies that are household names are NOT as supportive of equality as one might think and in states like Virginia, the only employment non-discrimination protections are those adopted by employers. Hence why I encourage folks to patronize gay friendly employers with their business and to avoid those that do not. The LGBT community has a great deal of purchasing power and we need not give our money to companies who are hostile towards employment protections. Take the time to educate yourself on who is an ally and who is not. Here are some companies one might want to avoid:
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Berkshire Hathaway - Dairy Queen; 15
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Bob Evans 15
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Jack in the Box , Qdoba Mexican Grill; 15
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Krispy Kreme 0
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OSI Restaurant Partners - Bonefish Grill; Carrabba's Italian Grill; Cheeseburger in Paradise; Fleming's Prime Steakhouse; Outback Steakhouse; 0
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You may be surprised by some of the results.

Circa 1918 - A Wonderful Dining Experience

I do not typically write restaurant reviews, but on Saturday evening we went to a relatively new restaurant in Newport News located in the Hilton Village area called Circa 1918. The name comes from the date when Hilton Village - a unique village within the larger city with older homes with wonderful architectural detail and shops and restaurants within walking distance - was first developed. The food and atmosphere were wonderful and the mostly male wait staff is not only attentive but gorgeous to boot. We will definitely go back. It is always a treat to find restaurants that are on a par with those in New York, Key West and other destinations we love to visit right here in our own backyard. Here's a sample of what one reviewer had to say:
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Chad Martin and his team of hospitable professionals have 'created' a tucked away setting on Warwick in the Hilton Village neighborhood of Newport News called Circa 1918. I heard a couple of friends of mine from the industry had found this nice little restaurant that they, as servers and bartenders, could call home. My friends are legends in Newport News fine dining with Meredith Guthrie, Andrew Hyatt and Kip Mullen, who manned the bar as he is known to do so well.
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Creative American cuisine describes the excellent menu, with Crab Cakes and duck, ribeye and crispy salmon. I was tipped off that the fish was going be good. Andrew selected Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, a glass of seafood wine that was perfect for what was coming. Three lines down on the small plate segment was a mussel dish with carrot broth and portugese sausage crumbled in, and the ricotta gnocchi served with the seared Halibut special sounded too good, so the three-man kitchen went to work.
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All of this great food, and the service never slipped. Timing of courses was excellent and every detail was accounted for. . . . From the friendly, professional service to the perfectly executed meal, Circa deserves its kudos. When in Newport News, make Circa 1918 a destination to dine. May your experience be as good as ours.
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I agree totally with the review sentiments and would urge local readers and visitors to the area to check out Circa 1918.

Virginia Tourism Sagging: Meanwhile Gay Dollar Rejected

Today's Virginian Pilot carries yet another article on the sagging fortunes of Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and other southeastern Virginia tourist destinations. Throughout the severe recession only one travel market segment has held constant - indeed it has grown. As I have written before, that is the LGBT travel market. One marketing research report described the gay travel segment as follows:
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Defining the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) consumers could result in a windfall for the mainstream travel industry, which has been experiencing a period of slowed growth. This consumer research confirms that the LGBT travelers are traveling often and spending more on travel. . . . . LGBT travelers reported spending 25% more on leisure travel than heterosexual travelers. Ninety-six percent of respondents had taken at least one short leisure trip in the previous year (compared to just 56% of mainstream travelers) and 98% of respondents indicated that a destination’s gay-friendly reputation influenced their decision to visit.
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And Virginia's reaction to this reality? It remains a thoroughly anti-gay state without employment protections for LGBT employees, restrictions on employers' ability to provide domestic partner benefits to employee spouses/partners, denies same sex relations ships any legal validity. In contrast to say Key West - which is amazingly LGBT friendly - or Vancouver which is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics that likewise embraces diversity and tolerance, Virginia has little to offer LGBT tourists when it comes to a welcoming atmosphere. In fact, tourists flying into Norfolk International Airport are greeted on one concourse by a huge display for Pat Robertson's Regent University, complete with a roughly eight foot by five foot image of Robertson himself. How many gays are going to find that welcoming? None, in my estimation. Bigotry has its price and wonderful historic sites, beautiful hotels like the one at Williamsburg Winery, and great restaurants do not out weigh a poisonous legal atmosphere. Will Virginia ever learn this simple truth? Most likely no time soon as far too much of the state's laws remain dictated by the Family Foundation and similar extreme anti-gay organizations of which the state has far too many. Here are some highlights from the Pilot article:
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Williamsburg reported selling 660,000 general-admission tickets in 2009, down from about 707,000 in the previous year. That was a smaller decline than the 9 percent drop in 2008. . . . Colonial Williamsburg cut about 300 jobs in the past year and a half and now has a staff of 2,650, spokesman Tom Shrout said.
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Colonial Williamsburg is hardly the only tourist destination that reported financial declines for 2009. Two weeks ago, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation reported that attendance fell more than 11 percent at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center.

Prince Harry Kisses Gay Man for a Beer

RI used to think that Prince William was the nicer looking of Princess Diana's sons, but as he has gotten older, Prince Harry has turned out quite good looking - and despite some of his misadventures he seems to overall have a good sense of humor. Far too many celebrities, actors, politicians and others take themselves far too seriously, so humor and being down to earth - to the extent one can be having grown up in the fishbowl of the monarchy - is a plus. Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that Harry gave a gay fan a kiss while out drinking with other RAH trainees. Here are some highlights from Newsoftheworld.uk:

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But male admirer Rocky Bennett got a smacker from Prince Harry in exchange for a LITTLE BOTTLE . . . one full of the fun-loving royal's favourite brew, "reassuringly expensive" Stella Artois lager. The starstruck 21-year-old made his cheeky move when he spotted the royal boozing in a club.
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Ricky grinned: "I went up to him and told him I would love to buy him a drink - if he gave me a kiss, Harry just burst out laughing, threw his arms around me and kissed me on the left cheek. Rocky, a petrol station manager, said: "It was the best moment of my life. I just burst into tears, he's so down to earth."
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The bizarre encounter came as Harry, 25, enjoyed a midweek night out in Stevenage, Herts, away from his usual West End haunts. The prince and his fellow trainee pilots chose the Liquid nightclub close to RAF Henlow. "It was so crazy to see Harry out in Stevenage," explained Rocky. "It's not exactly the most exotic place. He went upstairs to the VIP lounge at first but then came down to the main bar.
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"He was with about eight other guys and security was tight but when I went over to him he was lovely. I told him how much I had admired his mother Princess Diana and how I thought she would be proud of him. Harry's spokesman confirmed the prince and his pals had been unwinding after a day in the classroom. The prince has confided to friends he is determined to return to Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot. "It is my duty to support the lads," he said. But no kissing - unless there's a beer involved, of course!

Thelma Drake Concedes to Glenn Nye

With all the last of the absentee ballots counted, GOP Congresswoman Thelma Drake has finally conceded to Democrat Glenn Nye. Thelma, who I have known for years, voted in lock step with the Chimperator more than 90% of the time and was less than gay friendly. I suspect, that with her district's heavy military population, she thought she's see no bad consequences from voting a far right agenda. In contrast, Glenn - who I have likewise met - will offer the 2nd District's residents a much more open minded and rational approach to the issues facing the country and region. Moreover, he is gay friendly and will be attending tomorrow night's gala event honoring a local pioneer in the LGBT community. Thelma in contrast would NEVER have set foot inside the door of a LGBT organization event. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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Rep. Thelma Drake late Thursday night conceded the election for the 2nd Congressional District to political newcomer Glenn Nye after a bitterly fought race.

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The Nye victory delivers the district to Democrats for the first time since 2000, and he heads to Washington as part of the growing Democratic majority on Capitol Hill. The 34-year-old former foreign service officer ran a campaign stressing the need for bipartisan cooperation in Washington and an exit strategy for the war in Iraq.

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The absentee ballots were about double the normal total received by the registrar’s office. They included 10,115 mailed absentee ballots and 16,663 that were cast in person.

Wonderful Friends

I did not post yesterday because Raymond and I went to the beach house of a friend’s family down in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach. We spent the late morning on the beach, then retreated indoors when a rain front came through and ultimately stayed for dinner.

Sandbridge is basically the area where the northern end of the barrier islands forming the Outer Banks of North Carolina connects with the mainland in southern Virginia Beach (the city’s southern boundary is the North Carolina line). The very southern portion consists of False Cape State Park, with the area northward made up of a slender peninsula (See photo above) lying between the Atlantic Ocean and Back Bay (also pictured above), which is the northern limit of Pamlico Sound. It’s about a 35-40 minute drive from our house in Norfolk.

My friend is a guy who I have known for over 16 years, a former law partner and current business partner in my title insurance company operation. As is often the case, we were just added into the extended family group of my friend and his sons, some of their friends, his sister and her son and his girlfriend, and my friend’s parents. Our visits are always relaxing and leave you feeling like you have been much farther away than just 35 miles or so. His family is amazingly interesting and nice, plus very accepting of gay couples. In fact his mother has two gay cousins, one of whom worked with the Beatles for years.

Once the rain set in, we spent the rest of the day and early evening on the second floor wrap around screened porch overlooking Back Bay. Part of the time my friend’s oldest son played guitar and sang songs he has written (he is incredibly talented and attended the Governor’s School for the Arts). One of his prized possessions is a guitar that once belonged to Paul McCartney that was a gift from one of his gay cousins. The rest of the time we talked of an amazing array of topics, ranging from my friend’s dad’s days commanding a naval vessel, gay rights issues, politics, the Bible, Hebrew and the Bible, and so on. It was a wonderful day.

They are such an amazing family and such wonderful people.