Microsoft is drawing fire for withdrawing support for proposed Washington state legislation that would ban discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment, housing and insurance. The company, which supported the bill last year, has changed is stance to neutral, citing conflicting views among its employees and shareholders. Others cite a boycott threat by a local religious rightist minister, whose Seattle congregation includes many company employees.
Microsoft was one of the first to provide domestic partner benefits, and has long included sexual orientation in its own anti-discrimination policy. Those internal policies will not change, and both chief executive Steve Ballmer and chairman Bill Gates say they personally support the bill. Nevertheless, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center called on the company to return a prize it received from the group in 2001.
The libertarian in me has always felt that the gay movement placed too much emphasis on anti-discrimination laws targeting the private sector, as opposed to fighting discrimination by the government, whose military gay ban creates exponentially more "job discrimination" against gays than the few hidebound private employers who might want to keep gays out. And I'm not sure shareholder-owned companies ought to take positions on social policy issues, thus becoming the targets of social-issue advocates on both sides (as, apparently, has happened to Microsoft).
But for several years now anti-discrimination laws have been the key item on the movement's political scorecards, and nothing is likely to change that. Given this dynamic, the company's flip-flop, even if only to a "neutral" position, can only seem like a loss to "the other side." So Microsoft -- whose exemplary internal policies would otherwise set it apart as a model for others -- has stumbled into a position where its likely to receive only scorn from both sides.
Update: Mr. Gates
goes to Washington. I think he wanted to keep his lobbying
activities focused on already controversial issues like opposing
new immigration limits, and was caught offguard by the brouhaha
over his firm's shift into "neutral" on the statewide gay rights
bill (which failed in the state senate last week by one
vote).