Gay-marriage advocates, aiming to show broad support as the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue for the first time, have enlisted Apple, Morgan Stanley and dozens of Republicans who once held top government positions…
The justices will hear arguments March 26 on California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that halted gay marriage in the state after it was allowed for five months.
The corporate group, which also includes Facebook and Intel will argue in its brief that gay-marriage bans in 41 states harm workplace morale and undermine recruiting.
“No matter how welcoming the corporate culture, it cannot overcome the societal stigma institutionalized by Proposition 8 and similar laws,” the companies will argue.
The Republican brief will include Jon Huntsman Jr., the former presidential candidate and ex-governor of Utah; Christine Todd Whitman, a onetime New Jersey governor who ran the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush; and three ex-governors of Massachusetts in William Weld, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift. Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who ran for president last year as a Libertarian, is also part of the group…
A larger group of companies — more than 200, including Goldman Sachs — is also poised to side with gay- rights advocates in a second Supreme Court case, involving a federal law that defines marriage as a heterosexual union. Under that law, known as the Defense of Marriage Act, legally married gay couples can’t claim the federal tax breaks and other benefits available to opposite-sex spouses.
The companies in that case are part of a collection of more than 250 employers, including cities, counties and law firms.
Although the high court often ignores so-called friend-of- the-court briefs, at times they can shape the way some justices view a dispute. When the court upheld university affirmative action in 2003, the majority opinion relied on briefs filed by corporations and former military officers touting the benefits of racial diversity.
Overdue.
No surprise there.
Apple is led by Tim Cook, as fey a CEO as you can get without having to go to a parade.
Morgan-Stanley are as big a bunch of cock-biters as you are likely to meet in the financial pool. They don’t discriminate. If you have money, they want it!
… and don’t forget Hershey!
Yeah, takin’ it up the ol’ Hersey Highway… 🙂
Of course they all come together, that’s an easy one to support.
Let’s see where they stand on something a tad more important… like… human rights in China.
Ghost town anyone?
I haven’t seen a corporation/government relationship this seamless and incestuous since Benito’s Fascism.
Any companies that don’t slavishly toe the Administration’s party line better look out.
I haven’t seen a corporation/government relationship this seamless and incestuous since Benito’s Fascism.
Any companies that don’t slavishly toe the Administration’s party line better look out.
Well, corporations are people so I guess they can be gay too.
That’s funny.
taste the rainbow
Hershey?
YA!
Who cares who is for or against anything?
The relevant issue is WHY?===>as in legal reasoning.
Yea for my team, Boo for your team. Same as it always was.
Same court that decided money doesn’t corrupt politics will decide whether or not something that has never existed anywhere at any time (?) will find it to be an inalienable right?
Thats not activist at all.
Why? Because of PC….thats all.
Pretty sure you’re the dumbest guy in Dvoraks blogging staff. What the hell happened? Do you have pictures ?
Awesome!
They’re helping to put together a list of companies that I don’t want to do business with!!!
Smart idea Irrational Ranger… you might catch teh gay from them!
So morality is based on fear?!?!?! Dumb theory or simply intellectual dishonesty.
Oh!!!
Now you’re stereotyping me! I thought that was a hate crime!
Where’s the PC police when you need them?
In Panama City, busting underage drinkers there for spring break.
Good Luck with that. Goldman Saks pretty much underwrites every corporate bond offering. You will be very poor in material items.
Fox has had multiple overtly gay story lines in every episode of Glee. I also saw my first Openly Gay commercial for the Kindle on Fox during Nascar.
Guess you’ll turning off Fox News Channel and NASCAR.
Not a problem!
I don’t watch Fox “news” or Nascar….
Never fails. Those who bash gays the most ALWAYS turn out to be closet queens. Thanks for outing yourself.
How old is that asshole saying? Please come up with something new so I can go “Ohhhh am I really gaaaaay?”
I’m sure you’re not gay. You’re just harbor inferior feelings but also because you’re an ordinary asshole.
Of course the gay bashers are secretly gay, and hate themselves for the way they are.
If they were straight, they would be too lost in thoughts about their hetro interests to worry about guys taking themselves out of the competition for girls’ attention.
I wish every guy, other than me, was gay; then I would have a larger pool of female candidates to select from.
Somewhat disagree. My guess it’s 30-50% have ‘conflicting urges’ to what mommie expects. The majority and the rest suffer an inferiority complex. Suppressing others to feel superior is easier than lifting themselves up.
It’s all about the Benjamins, my friends. The corporations don’t care about people’s moral values, only about making a buck. They’ve figured out that enough people are OK with gay marriage that they can make more bucks catering to them than to the anti-gay marriage people.
Plan accordingly.
It is indeed about Benjamins. However, not in a way you think. This is a perfect example of Fascist Economy pushed by the Progressives (Left and Right):
1)Progressive corrupt politician is elected as he, behind the doors have promised goodies to corrupt corporations and they donated heavily. So far, so typical of any politician/corporation interaction.
2)Progressive politician indeed gives benefits to corporations that have helped his election. So far, so typical.
3)Now the Progressive catch: These politicians are not satisfied with monetary quid-pro-qua …. Nooo… Corporations now must actively support his ideological and political ideas. There is NO option to just donate or donate and be quiet. Even if corporation have donated, if it does not pull the ideological line – the hammer of regulatory and other burdens is ready to hit. Because they have lost leverage in giving money earlier… Essentially bullying with a force of Federal Government.
That is how Nazi Germany worked. Public-private partnership is neo-nazi term for it (and their term for fascism is Progressivism). These companies know that they will not make a buck with this. But they are on the right side of the Bully in Charge. That is worth more than money.
This. Plus there’s several benefits of having gay employees over the straight ones:
Single, gay male? No pesky wife to distract him. No time-sucking children. They’re perfect for overtime.
Plus. Most of them don’t want to have kids unlike childless, (gay or straight) single women in their late thirties. It is much safer to invest in their education for the benefit of the company. You’re not going to get a “My biological clock is ticking I need to have a baby before it’s too late!” From gay men.
Sounds sexist? Definitively. But if your job involves improving productivity at work it makes sense.
I support gay marriage for one reason:
Gay Divorce. Hasn’t the Gay community observed the trials and tribulations of their straight friend’s divorces.
The upside to “Gay” was just being able to walk away without a divorce battle. You are bringing the hell of divorce on yourselves. DUMB, DUMB, and Dumber.
Divorce Lawyers are gonna make a killing in the Gay Divorce business.
Careful what you wish for.
I’m sure their are 1000’s of homosexuals who promised to marry their partners…if It ever became legal. I bet they are packing right now, cause they really don’t want to be married. When they made that comment they really thought no way it would ever happen. Uh Oh!
“I support gay marriage for one reason: Gay divorce”
I believe you ! It’s refreshing when people admit they always think about misery for others. You might be an angry asshole , but you’re honest.
What is a gay union of a man and a woman?
Trying to redefine marriage will inevitably weaken it, but then again that’s what certain people with an agenda want, and they are using the gays to advance it.
“Trying to redefine marriage will inevitably weaken it”
Stupid argument from someone who doesn’t understand how marriage or people work, but that doesn’t stop them from having a stupid opinion .
My marriage is founded on an oath on God between two friends. I doubt “red-definition” will weaken marriage if it’s real, unless you don’t believe in oaths, or God, or friends. BTW, I’m married to a woman, smart-ass.
I’m suuuuurrrrreee your the greatest husband of all time though.
Corporations are about making money. I don’t see how picking a side in a controversial issue advances that goal. I would never as a CEO alienate half of my customers by weighing in on this issue on the corporate level.
Corporations are not allowed to get married yet, although we may have that soon. AT&T and T-mobile could get married and become “one flesh” and the justice department couldn’t block it as long as they do it in a state where the gay marriage legalization doesn’t specifically mention homosexuality. Saying that any two persons can get married will allow corporations to marry.
It’s funny how absolutely NO ONE seems to be picking up on the REAL topic here.
Finally! We have a group of people being discriminated against because they want the same “rights” that (among other reasons) our Internal Revenue Service has decreed they should not have. A decree that company after company and governmental entity after governmental entity have complied with through the years. A decree that isn’t exactly spelled out but one that starts with an ILLEGAL taxation of LABOR!
You Constitution scholars may want to brush up on your facts since it is Constitutionally ILLEGAL to tax anyone on his(her) labor. So what do the powerful tax experts do? They call it “income” and tax THAT! Clear evidence that these elite powerful entities consider all the money in the world all theirs and how the rest of us married/unmarried gay/straight or whatever are merely BORROWING it at times.
So, like I said, we finally have a group kind idiots saying they want the same benefits as anyone else willing to commit to a lifetime together. Of course, the powerful elite never even considered this and have even made decisive moves to exclude them from “the process” since gays/lesbians can not produce more serfs. But there it is. Nearly a century of UNEQUAL taxation perceived as “rights” and the argument is over marriage?!
Like I said, kind IDIOTS!
Any solution would be to end any and all official recognition of marriage by any government and leave it to the religious and other social leaders to decide. You’d think that our government would learn that exclusion of anyone from any “official” recognition along with any benefits that any such recognition carries is STUPID! Look at how long it took to get racial equality – and that’s just a tad easier to recognize!
We just need to be “units” then each unit can do whatever it wants. No male/female/both/confused/whatever just units.
CNN has a story recently about a young boy (6 years old I think) that has the gender of a girl. This has caused a lot of concern about using the girls bathroom at it’s school.
I assume when it grows up it will want to marry a goat.
This just reminds us that even people of questionable ethics can do the right thing when it suits their purpose. Just don’t make me take a look inside those briefs.
Finally. An intelligent comment.
Now Americans are getting a taste of the propaganda we have had in Canada. Its worse than an Amway meeting. Now matter what the topic on Canadian CBC government left wing radio the talk always leads to gay marriage and how wonderful it is. First of all “who cares”. Work hard , be productive to society and don’t bother me. Perhaps i am a neanderthal yet if i talked of my amorous adventures in the same manner I would be told to be quiet in the back seat of the car.
I can see how you feel you’re a Neanderthal but you’re on the right track as to how others see you.
You know the US economy was been in bad shape, when all these companies go to such lengths to woo the 2 – 3% of the population, gay married couple might represent as potential customers. By that reasoning, they ought to support more Native American rights. If such a small percent of the total population, is enough for them to get worked up about. But I don’t see that happening.
Let’s see: about 3% of the population is homosexual. How many of them want to get married? 20%? That’s .6% of the population affected by this issue.
Yet you’d think it’s practically a national emergency based on all the spilled ink and loud public debate. I hear the drum beat most every day as if large swaths are being deprived of something necessary for survival.
I can only conclude that it’s a manufactured wedge issue intended to let a particular political side smear those not enthusiastically for it as hopeless benighted morally-stunted bigots.
I’m quite certain there are DNC strategists working on the next wedge issue to trot out to low information voters via a compliant news media and TV/Hollywood once global warming and gay marriage lose their steam.
It goes to show there is no minimum threshold to do what’s right.
However , I agree it gets more attention than it deserves.
The reason is because it’s the obvious and logical thing to do. In fact it’s so obvious that the majority of sheeple get it. In your case, the lunatic fringe will never get it.
Why you’ve made such a cynical strategy a tenet of your religion is something I totally get.
Banking businesses seem to dominate that graphic by far – why is that?