Microsoft May Support Gay Rights Bill - Next Year
Microsoft's Bill Gates says he is reconsideringthe company's decision last week not to support a Washington state bill that would protect gays from housing, employment and other discrimination - for next year. We wrote about the furor the decision caused here.
Unfortunately, the bill has already been voted down in Washington this year. It lost by one vote.
In an interview with The Seattle Times on Monday, Mr. Gates, who rarely grants interviews and declined through a spokesman Tuesday to grant one to The New York Times, indicated that he was surprised by the backlash to the company's turnaround on the legislation. He also suggested that Microsoft, which had been known for decades as a corporate leader on gay rights and had supported the bill in previous years, might change course next year because of the controversy.
The bill was defeated by one vote in the State Senate last week. Microsoft had withdrawn its support, and critics said the company was under pressure from a prominent local evangelical minister who threatened a boycott of Microsoft products.
The Seattle Times article is here.
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