Tag: gay rights

These 25 Corporations Donated $13.5 Million to Anti-Gay Politicians Since 2022

Pensito Editors

stryvemarketing.com

While major corporations continue to spend token amounts on marketing to the LGBTQ community, a Popular Information investigation reveals the same companies are spending millions backing anti-LGBTQ politicians. The investigation found that 25 corporations have donated $13.5 million to anti-LGBTQ politicians since January 2022.

Popular Information’s analysis includes:

1. Money donated by corporate PACs to the campaigns of members of Congress who received a zero rating on the latest Congressional scorecard produced by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s most prominent LGBTQ rights organization.

2. Money donated by corporate PACs to the leadership PACs of members of Congress who received a zero rating on the latest HRC Congressional scorecard.

3. Money donated by corporations and corporate PACs to state legislators who sponsored anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

4. Money donated by corporations and corporate PACs to the governors who signed anti-LGBTQ legislation into law in those states.

5. Money donated by corporations to the primary 527 organizations that support anti-LGBTQ state legislators and governors: the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) and the Republican Governors Association (RGA).

Here’s the list:

All 25 corporations included in Popular Information’s analysis were highly rated by Human Rights Campaign’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). Twenty of the 25 corporations received perfect scores (100) and none received a score below 85. Along with workplace policies, the Corporate Equality Index purports to measure corporations’ “public commitment to the LGBTQ community.” But HRC’s methodology excludes political donations.

Happy Pride Month!

Tennessee’s Anti-Drag Hysteria Started in a Rural Town 90 Miles West of Memphis

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2022 Pride Parade in Jackson, Tenn.
2022 Pride Parade in Jackson, Tenn.

Tennessee Lookout: “In fall of 2022, nearly a dozen political and religious leaders met with Pride festival organizers in a back room of Jackson City Hall in West Tennessee. The shared goal? Hash out a deal over a drag show.

“Jackson’s third annual LGBTQ Pride festival was scheduled for the following month, and unlike the previous years, the event had grown beyond the usual music and games. Organizers had put together enough money for a 10-person drag performance.

“Jackson is a town of 70,000 in Madison County, Tennessee, located about halfway between Nashville and Memphis on Interstate 40. The county reliably leans Republican, while the city is more split, going 50/50 in the 2020 Presidential election.

“The city hall meeting was a dramatic affair, with Pride organizers storming out after a conservative pastor likened men dressing up in women’s clothing to blackface, but negotiations continued. Afterward, state lawmaker Chris Todd sued the city to stop the event. When that was only partially successful, he spearheaded the effort to create one of the nation’s first restrictions on drag performances.”

Lawmaker Equates Right to Fire Gays to Right to Smoke

Buck Banks

You need to respect the autonomy of somebody running their business. It’s like smoking bans. Do you ban smoking or do people have the right to private property? I think people have the right to private property. In public spaces, absolutely, we can have smoking bans. But we don’t want to micromanage people’s lives and businesses. If you have a business, do you want the government to come in and tell you you need to hire somebody? Why should government be there to impose on the freedoms we enjoy?

— Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC), comparing the right to fire gay workers with the right to smoke cigarettes on private property, ThinkProgress reports.

Texas GOP Platform Seeks to Codify Anti-Gay Attitudes

Buck Banks

We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. Additionally, we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values. We recognize the legitimacy and value of counseling which offers reparative therapy and treatment to patients who are seeking escape from the homosexual lifestyle, No laws or executive orders shall be imposed to limit or restrict access to this type of therapy.

— Excerpt from the Texas Republican Party’s draft platform for the 2014 elections.