Everybody’s Business

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Human Rights Campaign sets new standard for ‘Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality’

The Human Rights Campaign announced Wednesday that companies wishing to keep their title next year of “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” will need to advance the community’s rights in the public sphere. 

Writing in The Advocate, HRC interim President Joni Madison said her organization would no longer automatically award the distinction to firms achieving a top score in the Corporate Equality Index, the group’s tool to measure companies’ support for LGBTQ workplace inclusion.

“Corporate social responsibility today is about going beyond HR plans and benefits,” she wrote in an op-ed. “It’s about the business companies do and how their values carry through everything they do — from internal policies to products to politics.” 

For the 2023 index, companies will still be able to achieve a top score of 100 based on the group’s existing set of criteria for measuring internal LGBTQ inclusion. However, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group said it will only recognize employers as the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” if they exceed its index’s benchmarks.

“Companies earning this distinction must have a 100 on the CEI and will need to be bar setters for how companies can do even more — from taking a stand in the public square against elected officials harming LGBTQ+ youth to mitigating the harm of their products and services on our community,” Madison wrote. “Importantly, to receive this award, they will need to be nominated by their workers.”

HRC published its first Corporate Equality Index in 2002. Back then, it rated companies on a set of seven factors, which included having written nondiscrimination policies protecting LGBT employees, offering health insurance coverage to employees’ same-sex domestic partners and engaging in “respectful and appropriate” marketing to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. 

Only 13 of the 319 rated employers achieved a top score of 100 in the inaugural index. The median score for rated companies was 57 that year.

This year, 1,271 employers actively participated in the index survey, which now uses an expanded set of criteria to assess companies. A top score was achieved by 842 participants, or two-thirds of respondents.

Yet, the recent wave of legislation targeting LGBTQ individuals, in particular transgender youth, has once again forced the group to move the bar higher for companies that wish to achieve the status of “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.”

One company that claims this title is the Chicago-based financial services firm Morningstar, which has maintained a top score in the index since 2018.

“We’re proud Morningstar has earned designation as among the ‘Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality’ for five years in a row, and we certainly aspire to keep the streak going,” said David Williams, chief design officer for Morningstar and executive sponsor of the [email protected] Employee Resource Group. “As a ratings agency ourselves, we recognize the power of ratings to drive transparency and accountability.”

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Morningstar pointed to its support for the Equality Act as further proof that it is committed to LGBTQ equality beyond its own walls. If passed by Congress, the Equality Act would extend federal protection from discrimination and segregation to LGBTQ individuals.

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But the change to the index also comes at a time when the corporate world has come under increased scrutiny for its alleged duplicity when it comes to advancing LGBTQ equality, particularly in the political realm.

Earlier this year, the Human Rights Campaign deducted 25 points from Fox Corp.’s index score of 100 following Fox News’ coverage of Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

“Fox News has a history of sharing misinformation and disinformation about the LGBTQ+ community,” Aryn Fields, the organization’s senior press secretary, told Deadline at the time. “We can no longer allow Fox Corporation to maintain its score if Fox News personalities and contributors continue to deny the existence of transgender people, minimize the violence transgender individuals face, refer to parents of LGBTQ+ youth as perverts, or equate leaders of LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion efforts with sex offenders.”

Beyond the Human Rights Campaign, organizers of Pride events have also reconsidered their relationships with corporate sponsors who make campaign contributions to politicians advancing legislation that, advocates say, would harm the LGBTQ community. Last month, Pride Northwest in Portland, Oregon, rejected sponsorship money from JPMorgan Chase after an investigation by Popular Information revealed that the firm made political contributions to anti-LGBTQ politicians through its corporate PAC.

JPMorgan Chase is among the 842 employers that achieved a top score in the 2022 index. But it is far from the only large corporation to finance the campaigns of anti-LGBTQ politicians, according to Popular Information.

In a statement to NBC News, JPMorgan Chase affirmed its “unwavering commitment to members of the LGBT+ community” and stated that the company “continues to promote an inclusive society where everyone feels welcomed, equal and included.”

“In communities across the United States, LGBT+ people and their families are facing barriers to, and erosion of, equal rights and protections,”  a spokesperson for the global financial services company said. “JPMorgan Chase opposes discrimination in any form, including homophobia and transphobia, as well as any public policies which could harm our employees, customers and the communities where we do business.”

While no one company spurred Human Rights Campaign to update the index, the organization maintains that the change aligns with the demands of employees and customers who support LGBTQ equality.

“Employees who see their company giving to extremist politicians, who see products being sold by their company that refute their existence, who hear lawmakers paint them as villains and are met by only silence from their companies, want ‘Best Place to Work’ to mean more,” Madison wrote in The Advocate. “We do too.”

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Gaming giant EA tells staff it won’t defend trans rights or abortion rights

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Gaming giant EA has told staff that the company will not publicly defend trans rights or abortion rights at a company-wide meeting.

The gaming publication Kotaku reported that it had seen and verified a transcript of the town hall meeting on Tuesday (24 May), which allowed employees to raise issues with senior management.

Employees had called on EA, the gaming company behind FIFA and The Sims, to make a public statement on the leaked Supreme Court draft opinionwhich showed that the court is poised to strip constitutional abortion rights from US citizens, and on the wave of anti-trans legislation sweeping America,specifically legislation in Texas which classes gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth as “child abuse”.

But according to the transcript, and despite publicly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, staff were told that “being an inclusive company means being inclusive of all those points of view”.

Chief people officer Mala Singh reportedly said: “The thing about the world today is there is a lot of division, we know this right, we see it every single day, but the thing that unites us is that we’re all here to make amazing games and experiences for our players, and that is how we have the most positive impact on the world.

“These things are hard and they’re personal and we all have our own perspectives and sometimes we won’t speak, and that will be upsetting and I understand that, we really do.”

Instead, Singh reportedly told EA employees to make use of the gaming company’s “healing circles” to process their feelings about trans and abortion rights.

An EA employee told Kotaku that “healing circles” are group mental health sessions centred around specific issues, which are made available to staff as part of the company’s healthcare benefits.

“I know these have been tough issues, whether it’s the shootings that happened recently in the US, the Roe v Wade issues, these are hard,” Singh said.

“And so, one of the other things you’re going to see is we’re going to be making some more healing circles available through Modern Health.”

In a statement to the publication, EA corporate communications director Lacey Haines said: “We’re not going to comment further on the global town hall, as that is a company confidential forum.

“That said, we work to create an environment where our employees can talk about complex issues in our world today. We do this in a number of ways, from town halls to Slack discussions, group dialogues, surveys, and more.

“From all of that, we recognise these topics are deeply personal, and we know that there are many strong opinions, and some will be disappointed when we say that we’re not making public statements because we’re focused on the ways we can support our people around the world as their employer.

“That is what we’re doing, in this case, making sure that people have access to the healthcare benefits we provide as a company, even if those aren’t available locally.”

EA told PinkNews that Singh had told employees that the company was “working with our US healthcare provider to determine how we can expand our benefits to include travel support for any covered services where access is limited in an employee’s region, including reproductive services, gender-affirming care and others”.

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New York City insurance bans gay couples from having kids, so a gay couple is fighting back

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A married gay couple has filed a federal complaint against New York City because the city’s health insurance doesn’t cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures for male same-sex couples.

Corey Briskin, 33, and Nicholas Maggipinto, 36, were married in 2016. They want to have a child using IVF and a surrogate. However, they can’t afford to do so without their health insurance covering a portion of the costs.

IVF procedures can run tens of thousands of dollars, and the surrogate’s time and labor (which isn’t typically covered by health insurance) can cost $100,000 or more. Additionally, Maggipinto has a six-figure student loan debt.

So the couple tried to use Briskin’s health insurance, a benefit he earns as an employee of the city of New York. However, the couple were told they were ineligible for coverage.

The city’s insurance limits IVF coverage to employees or spouses who are “infertile,” that is, unable to get pregnant through heterosexual intercourse or intrauterine insemination. This policy covers women, heterosexual couples and lesbian couples, but not gay male couples.

As such, the city’s policy discriminates on the basis of sex and sexual orientation, violating the state’s anti-discrimination law and Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, the couple argued in its complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

New York state law specifically directs insurance providers that cover more than 100 workers to cover at least three cycles of IVF for all insured people, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, the couples’ EEOC filing notes.

“I think what we have here is an old paradigm of what families should look like,” Maggipinto said. “You have policymakers who think a family consists of a man and a woman and two and a half children…. But that’s not what my family will look like.”

The couple now wants the policy changed so that they and other male couples can afford to have children. They also hope the complaint could help encourage insurance providers to cover IVF for male couples across the nation.

A city spokesperson said it would review the couple’s complaint once it was received.

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GLAAD, Sony Music Group Announce Partnership to Advance LGBTQ Representation

GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, and Sony Music announced a partnership in March to amplify LGBTQ voices and representation in the music industry. 

According to Variety, the partnership includes several initiatives to advance advocacy and inclusion at Sony and within the broader industry. The initiatives include the following:

  • GLAAD Media Institute will implement consultation and education for Sony Music Group, including LGBTQ-focused education sessions for Sony employees and leadership in an effort to help build greater awareness and competency around LGBTQ issues and people.
  • GLAAD will consult Sony on its campaigns and programs that seek to highlight contemporary LGBTQ people and/or issues.
  • Sony will be an official sponsor for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on April 2, and New York City on May 6. 
  • Sony’s artists and songwriters nominated for the Outstand Music Artist award include: Brockhampton, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine (RCA Records/Question Everything), Kaytranada, Intimated (RCA Records), Lil Nas X, Montero (Columbia Records, Sony Music Publishing) and Arlo Parks, Collapsed in Sunbeams (Sony Music Publishing).
  • GLAAD and Sony will launch “Icons,” a three-part interview series that will bring together LGBTQ musicians, songwriters and producers across generations for discussion about LGBTQ inclusion in music, history of and the future of the industry. 

“Over the past several years, many LGBTQ artists have made major strides within the music industry, but there is still significant room to improve LGBTQ inclusion, representation, and awareness at all levels,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO. “Sony Music Group continues to be an incredible leader for diversity, equity, and inclusion in music, and we’re grateful to partner with them to both amplify diverse LGBTQ voices and establish greater pathways to grow LGBTQ inclusion within the industry at large.”

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‘Everywhere Is Queer’: New worldwide map highlights LGBTQ-owned businesses

Charlie Sprinkman traveled to 42 of the 50 states for work as a representative of an organic beverage company in 2019 and kept Googling “queer hangouts here” when he would arrive in a new town. But he would often come up empty.

“I couldn’t find a resource for it,” Sprinkman, 25, said of a centralized directory of LGBTQ-owned businesses. 

Charlie Sprinkman, creator of Everywhere is Queer.
Charlie Sprinkman, creator of Everywhere Is Queer.Katie Hope / The Wild Within Us

Then, in the summer of 2021, he was a counselor at a queer leadership camp for 12- to 18-year-olds outside Los Angeles, and he said being surrounded by 100 LGBTQ people for 11 days was “euphoric.” 

“I was like, ‘How do I create this space?’ Maybe not as grand as a camp, but like a space where people can feel this energy and not be judged for who they are,” said Sprinkman, who currently lives in Bend, Oregon, and works in customer service.

On the long drive back from the camp to his then-home in Colorado, Sprinkman said the phrase “Everywhere is queer” came to his mind. A few months later, in January of this year, it became the name of his LLC. 

Everywhere Is Queer consists of both a website that houses a worldwide map of LGBTQ-owned businesses and an Instagram page that shines a spotlight on some of these companies. Three months after the launch, the map has more than 500 businesses listed, and the Instagram page has nearly 5,000 followers. 

Everywhere Is Queer map
The Everywhere Is Queer map.Everywhere Is Queer / Google maps

Businesses include retailers like Housewife Skateboards in Los Angeles, coffee shops like Lussi Brown Coffee Bar in Lexington, Kentucky, and lodging like Hotel Perruquet in the Italian Alps.

Sprinkman said the project is personal for him, not just as a queer traveler but as someone who didn’t know of any LGBTQ-friendly spaces in his small suburban hometown about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. 

“I didn’t have any out cousins, aunts, uncles, anyone as like an influence, so I didn’t really have a space as a child to find queer spaces around my hometown,” he said. “As I was building Everywhere Is Queer, I was thinking about youth, my hometown, trying to find and build spaces for them to just, even if they’re not out, just sit in a queer-owned coffee shop and just see queer people. You know, that subconscious layer of just like seeing queer people is what I hope Everywhere Is Queer will provide for so many.”

Charlotte Tegen

So far, Sprinkman said most of the LGBTQ-owned businesses on the map are concentrated in the U.S., and that there are only four states that don’t have an LGBTQ-owned business listed yet. He said there are also businesses listed in Germany, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Anyone can add a business to the map by going to Everywhere Is Queer’s websiteand filling out an online form. 

One business owner listed on the map said she has seen more queer people come into her restaurants. Mel McMillan is the owner of Sammich in Oregon, which sells sandwiches made with house-smoked meats. Both of her Sammich locations, in Portland and Ashland, are listed on the map, as is her food truck, also in Portland. 

“If you Google ‘lesbian meat maker,’ you’ll get a real touch of what’s going on with me,” McMillan said. (It’s true: An article about her is the first thing that comes up in the search results for that phrase.)

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McMillan, 39, said that one of the things she loves about Everywhere Is Queer is that it’s bringing together queer people from different generations. 

Mel McMillan, owner of Oregon sandwich shop Sammich.
Mel McMillan, owner of Oregon sandwich shop Sammich. Courtesy Mel McMillan

Last month, Sprinkman and McMillan invited about 20 people to Sammich’s Portland location. 

“The first thing that I thought was so cool about this was it’s bridging the gap between older queers and younger queers,” McMillan said. “That was really cool, because there were 20-somethings and 40-somethings, and there’s not even a place really for that either.”

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Sprinkman said he’s also building a job board that allows businesses that are on the map to share job opportunities. 

“I also have been searching for a queer-owned business job board, and I cannot find one, so we’re building one,” he said. 

In the future, he said, he hopes to build an app to house the map and travel around to visit many of the LGBTQ-owned places listed. 

“I would love to hit the road and visit and really hear the authentic stories of these queer-owned businesses,” he said, adding that “uplifting” the voices of queer business owners is a dream of his. 

He said he also hopes that it helps LGBTQ travelers feel safer — and some have told him that it already has. He’s received hundreds of messages from people who have thanked him for filling a void. 

States across the U.S. have a variety of laws regarding whether businesses can refuse service to LGBTQ people. Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., have laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations, such as businesses, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit think tank. Eight states interpret their laws to protect LGBTQ people or provide partial protection. The remaining 21 states and five territories don’t provide any protection based on LGBTQ status.

From left, Mel McMillan, Charlie Sprinkman and the owners of catering company Two Spoons PDX, Laura Taki and Rachel Arenas.
From left, Mel McMillan, Charlie Sprinkman and the owners of catering company Two Spoons PDX, Laura Taki and Rachel Arenas.Charlie Sprinkman

As of this month, the map has been viewed more than 100,000 times, and Sprinkman doesn’t make any money off it. 

“I’m building this just out of my own little queer heart,” he said.

He hopes that the map can ultimately just help people find the spaces that allow them to be themselves. 

“I hope that a queer-owned business that was maybe unknown before can provide a space and a little bit more confidence, less judgment for anyone that’s struggling with figuring out their most authentic self,” Sprinkman said. “We’re always constantly on a journey, all of us.”

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Human Rights Campaign removes LGBT preferred employer status from Fox News

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The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization has removed Fox News its Corporate Equality Index as an LGBT preferred employer after nearly one week of relentless attacks on Transgender Americans.

“Fox News has a history of sharing misinformation and disinformation about the LGBTQ+ community. We know from our own research, which we put out earlier this week, what their disinformation and misinformation means for the LGBTQ+ community: perpetuating stigma and marginalization of transgender and non-binary people,” Aryn Fields, senior press secretary at HRC, said in a statement. 

“At a time when transgender people – especially transgender children – are under attack in statehouses across the country, rhetoric has real consequences,” Fields added.

Fields told The Hill that the network’s coverage of the LGBTQ community within the last 72 hours had contributed to a drop in its Corporate Equality Index score, which dropped from 100 to 75.

“We can no longer allow Fox Corporation to maintain it’s score if Fox News personalities and contributors continue to deny the existence of transgender people, minimize the violence transgender individuals face, refer to parents of LGBTQ+ youth as perverts, or equate leaders of LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusions efforts with sex offenders,” Fields said. “Each of these actions happened in the last 72 hours. Enough is enough.”

Following Disney’s response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation and the company’s effort to be gender inclusive, right-wing and extremist media watchdog group Media Matters for America reviewed Fox News’ obsessive coverage and found that the network has spent more than 3 hours this week – mentioning the company more than 350 times – alleging Disney is grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing children.

Fox has been laser-focused on the story and between midnight March 28 through 9 a.m. EDT April 1, Media Matters reviewed the network’s coverage and found that:

  • Fox News mentioned “Disney” over 350 times, dedicating over 3 hours of coverage. 
  • Fox News aired at least 53 segments about this story. 
  • Fox & Friends committed the most time to the topic, with 14 segments and 42 minutes dedicated to creating a backlash against Disney. 

 “This wall-to-wall coverage has overshadowed potentially damaging news about right-wing figures, such as the revelation that former President Donald Trump asked Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to release more dirt on presidential son Hunter Biden, which received just 2 minutes of coverage on the network,” Media Matters Deputy Director of Media Intelligence Tyler Monroe noted.

Fox in defending itself pointed out that the network hired Caitlyn Jenner to an on-air contributor role with her first appearance this past Thursday on Hannity.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said in announcing Jenner’s hire, “Caitlyn’s story is an inspiration to us all,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said in announcing the hire. “She is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community and her illustrious career spans a variety of fields that will be a tremendous asset for our audience.”

Jenner’s appearances on the Fox News Network over the past two months however, have been unrelenting attacks on Trans athletes, especially University of Pennsylvania Women’s Team swimmer Lia Thomas. Jenner also appeared on the network to defend her attacks on Trans athletes.

“We must protect women’s sports. We cannot bow down to the radical left wing woke world and the radical politically charged agenda of identity politics,” Jenner tweeted. In another tweet she said; 

“Thank you @seanhannity and @HeyTammyBruce for having a conversation grounded in common sense. All we want to do is protect women’s and girls sports! It’s that simple. And calling out the libelous, defamatory lies of @PinkNews and @emilychudy@benjamincohen“

Jenner has been asked about her position on the multiple pieces of anti-Trans youth sports legislation across the United States. She responded that she saw it as a question of fairness saying that she opposed biological boys who are Trans- competing in girls’ sports in school.

“It just isn’t fair,” Jenner said adding, “and we have to protect girls’ sports in our school.”

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Laura Ingraham’s gay brother slams her for being a “Putin-loving monster” who hates LGBTQ people

God bless Curtis Ingraham, Laura Ingraham‘s gay older brother.

After the Fox News propagandist did a segment on her show in which she cited a Breitbart article that accused schools of grooming preschoolers to be LGBTQ, Curtis took to Twitter to slam his baby sister for being a “Putin-loving monster.”

“This is rich coming from my Putin-loving sister who seems okay with children being killed in Ukraine,” he tweeted this morning, along with a clip from the segment, which aired last week. “Looks like she has a new trope in hand to further rile and anger her followers. What a monster!”

This isn’t the first time Curtis has put his homophobic sibling on blast. Last month, he took to Twitter to criticize a segment she did about Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, during which she claimed schools wanted to “sexually brainwash” other people’s children.

“My sister has the credibility of a tabloid,” he tweeted. “Spins like this reveal her deep-seated anger, desperation and complete ignorance of what is actually going on in education today.”

In the past, Curtis has also called Laura “nauseating” and suggested she is soulless. Speaking to the Daily Beast in 2018, he said, “She’s very smart, she’s well-spoken, but her emotional heart is just kind of dead.”

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Disney Gave FL GOP $190K Ahead Of “Don’t Say Gay”

Politico reports:

Weeks before The Walt Disney Co. took a stand against Florida’s contentious “Parental Rights in Education” law — which has been called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by its critics — the theme park operator and entertainment conglomerate donated $190,000 to support Florida Republicans.

The company gave $125,000 to the Republican Party of Florida and $65,000 to a committee that helps elect GOP state senators, led by incoming state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. All the donations, which were disclosed in new campaign filings Monday, arrived as the state legislative session was getting underway in January.

Disney last month announced it would pause making campaign donations in Florida amid a backlash over its jumbled response to the legislation.

Read the full article.

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TikTok Suspends Human Rights Campaign For 2 Days Over ‘Gay’ Comment

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The Human Rights Campaign’s TikTok account was suspended for two days after it posted in support of another TikTok user’s pro-LGBTQ+ video.

On Monday, the LGBTQ+ rights group wrote on Twitter explaining it had been suspended for a couple of days last week after it commented on a video protesting Florida’s “don’t say gay” law. The video in question showed a teenager driving past a sign welcoming people to the state while they yelled “gay!”

On Monday, the LGBTQ+ rights group wrote on Twitter explaining it had been suspended for a couple of days last week after it commented on a video protesting Florida’s “don’t say gay” law. The video in question showed a teenager driving past a sign welcoming people to the state while they yelled “gay!”

HRC posted “GAY” with hearts in yellow and blue, the organization’s colors. The comment received 2000 likes before it was taken down and reported by other TikTok users, according to HRC. The group’s account was suspended on April 3 and the group was notified on April 4. HRC had initially been told that its account would be suspended until April 10, however, they were able to appeal.

“What message does it send to young people when we comment or post LGBTQ+ content and it’s deemed inappropriate and a violation of community guidelines?,” Ty Cobb, senior director of strategic initiatives at HRC, told The Advocate in a statement. “We’re fighting a battle for our lives. Elected officials are trying to censor our speech and restrict our access to healthcare and equal opportunity. Our need to communicate to our community and allies is more important than ever right now. Having our TikTok account suspended for two days means our ability to post educational, affirming content was restricted, which is nothing short of devastating.”

TikTok has a history of blocking LGBTQ+ content. In 2020, the company even apologized for censoring it. The apology followed a report released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute indicating that terms like “gay,” “lesbian,” and “transgender” were restricted in several languages for global users wherever they were.

In an email to The Advocate, a TikTok spokesperson explained the company took action immediately after it knew of the issue with HRC.

“We restored the comment as soon as we were made aware of this error and will continue to provide ongoing training to help our moderators make consistent and accurate decisions,” the spokesperson for the company said. “We are proud that LGBTQ+ community members choose to create and share on TikTok, and our policies seek to protect and empower these voices on our platform.” 

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Seattle Pride drops Amazon over donations to anti-LGBTQ+ politicos

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The organizers and board of Seattle Pride has cut sponsorship ties with internet retail behemoth Amazon citing more than $450,000 to lawmakers who voted against the Equality Act and a demand by the Seattle-based company for naming rights to the annual LGBTQ+ Pride parade.

Seattle Pride Executive Director Krystal Marx told local media that donations to anti-LGBTQ+ Washington state politicians and the participation of anti-LGBTQ+ organizations in the company’s AmazonSmile program also factored into the decision. 

Marx noted that while Amazon offered a $100,000 sponsorship buy in, which was significantly higher than past donations the company has made in previous years, there were strings attached that included a request to call the annual celebration “Seattle Pride Parade Presented by Amazon.” It felt as if Amazon was trying to buy the event and the nonprofit itself, Marx told media outlet The Seattle Times.

“It was important for us to really take a hard look at how do these values align with us,” she said. “This Pride Parade is for our community to celebrate, to remember Stonewall in 1969, to continue the fight for our rights, and we don’t feel it was possible to accept this money.”

Seattle Pride also cited $11,000 in contributions Amazon made to Washington legislators who sponsored anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender bills during the 2022 session, NBC News affiliate KING-TV 5 reported.

“We simply cannot partner with any organization actively harming our community through the support of discriminatory laws and politics,” Seattle Pride said in a statement. 

An Amazon spokesperson told KING 5 that the company works with lawmakers on a broad array of topics that impact their business, but that did not mean they agreed with “any individual or political organization 100 percent of the time on every issue.”

“This includes legislation that discriminates or encourages discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community,” a spokesperson said.  

The company went on to cite their support for Seattle Pride and LGBTQ+ issues on a national scale. 

“Amazon has long supported Seattle Pride because we believe that the rights of LGBTQ+ people must be protected. We stand together with the LGBTQ+ community, were early and strong supporters of marriage equality, and are working at the U.S. federal and state level on legislation, including supporting passage of the Equality Act,” a spokesperson said. “We also work hard to offer an inclusive environment for employees and for five consecutive years we’ve received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index.”

Seattle Pride said organizers are also “deeply concerned” about the company’s AmazonSmile program, which allows customers to donate to charities as they shop. Seattle Pride cited an investigation revealing more than 40 anti-LGBTQ+ organizations were signed up to receive funds through the program.

Amazon said an organization’s participation in the AmazonSmile program does not mean the company endorses their views.

“It’s critical Amazon and other corporate partners of Seattle Pride – and for other Pride events nationally – do not allow their platforms to be used by organizations which are actively working against the rights of LGBTQIA+ people,” Seattle Pride said in their statement. 

When evaluating corporate sponsors, Marx says the group started from the top, with the companies that offered the largest donations and stood to benefit the most from exposure and involvement with the parade, she told the Seattle Times.

“Amazon has been a sponsor for the parade on and off since 2009. It has donated roughly $42,000 since then,” Marx said.

“We simply cannot partner with any organization actively harming our community through the support of discriminatory laws and politics. Making the decision to cut Amazon as a sponsor wasn’t an easy one,” Marx said, and it will affect the nonprofit’s finances.

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