May 7, 2005
Microsoft Will Back Gay Rights Legislation
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:29 a.m. ET
SEATTLE (AP) -- After being criticized for quietly dropping support for a state gay rights bill, Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve Ballmer told employees Friday that management would publicly back such legislation in the future.
Ballmer's commitment came two weeks after activists accused the company of caving to pressure from an evangelical pastor who had threatened to launch a nationwide boycott of the software company.
''After looking at the question from all sides, I've concluded that diversity in the workplace is such an important issue for our business that it should be included in our legislative agenda,'' Ballmer wrote in an e-mail.
In late April, Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, asked Microsoft to return a civil rights award the group had given the company four years ago. On Friday she said Microsoft should keep the honor.
''Few of us have not made a misstep. This was a misstep. It was a big one. But Microsoft has done the right thing, and we would be proud to have them keep our award,'' Jean told The Associated Press.
Ballmer said he would not discuss what prompted Microsoft to take a neutral stance this year on a bill it had actively supported in the past.
Microsoft, one of the first companies to extend domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples, claimed that its decision came before a meeting with Ken Hutcherson, pastor of a local church who has organized anti-gay-marriage rallies in Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Hutcherson could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. He has said he pressured Microsoft after hearing two employees testify in favor of a bill before the state Legislature that would have banned discrimination against gays in housing, employment and insurance.
The bill died by a single vote in the state Senate April 21.
Liberal bloggers called the company a corporate coward and posted rallying cries for their own boycott of Microsoft products. Gay rights groups said they'd keep pressuring Microsoft until the company once again came out in support of the bill.
State Rep. Ed Murray, an openly gay Seattle Democrat who sponsored the bill, said he was thrilled Microsoft had decided to support the legislation the next time it's proposed. ''Microsoft knows diversity is just plain good business. And they know that discrimination is bad for business,'' he said in a statement released Friday afternoon.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group, applauded the shift.
''We are proud that Microsoft did the right thing and has come down squarely on the side of fairness for all employees,'' Solmonese said in a statement. ''It is clear from Mr. Ballmer's statement that it is a business imperative to value a diverse workforce and support public policy that reinforces that principle.''
In his e-mail Friday, Ballmer said the company would continue to focus its lobbying efforts on issues that most directly affect Microsoft, such as Internet safety, intellectual property rights, free trade and a healthy business climate.
''I'm proud of Microsoft's commitment to non-discrimination in our internal policies and benefits, but our policies can't cover the range of housing, education, financial and similar services that our people and their partners and families need.
''Therefore, it's appropriate for the company to support legislation that will promote and protect diversity in the workplace.''
Microsoft shares slipped a penny to close at $25.22 in Friday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
