After Microsoft pulled support from the gay rights bill, I let them know of my disappointment. Surprisingly, they replied. The two things that concern me with the response are 1) should corporations necessarily have legislative agendas? (even if they are causes I believe in... on the other hand, I am not so naive as to believe that corporations do not affect policy); and 2) the part about supporting similar legislation in the future is too little too late.
Email excerpt:
This is in response to your comments on House Bill 1515. Thank you for sharing your views with us.
After considering views from all sides, Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, has articulated a clear policy that we will use to decide which issues will be the focus of our public policy activities. The company has thought carefully in developing these principles and has concluded that diversity in the workplace is such an important issue for our business that it should be included in our legislative agenda. The company therefore will continue to support federal legislation that would extend existing law to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and will support legislation similar to HB 1515 should it come up in a future Washington State legislative session.
