It's about Microsoft removing support of a bill that would extend equal rights (in employment, banking, insurance, etc..) to gays.
Follow the thread a little further:
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/04/take-action-microsoft-abandons-gays.html
and
http://www.thestranger.com/2005-04-21/feature.html
This is where it gets interesting:
The Stranger has learned that last month the $37-billion Redmond-based software behemoth quietly withdrew its support for House bill 1515, the anti-gay-discrimination bill currently under consideration by the Washington State legislature, after being pressured by the Evangelical Christian pastor of a suburban megachurch. The pastor, Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, met with a senior Microsoft executive in February and threatened to organize a national boycott of the company's products if it did not change its stance on the legislation, according to gay rights activists and a Microsoft employee who attended a subsequent April 4 meeting where Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft's senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary, told a group of gay staffers about Hutcherson's threat. Hutcherson also unsuccessfully demanded that the company fire two employees who had testified in favor of the bill.
Now what is interesting is that my wife used to go to that church in Redmond. Since then she has moved out to St. Louis with me. Her family still goes there AFAIK. I visited there once, and I was very struck by their political involvement (something unique for a *cringe* nondenominational church). I don't really know all of the details but it seems to me that this is a bit heavy handed. In my estimation basic civil rights are guaruanteed to everyone regardless of creed, and basic civil rights are a far cry away from affirming that kind of lifestyle or extending marriage to them. I understand the need to say that you disagree with issues like this, or that you believe that God finds it distasteful, but denying equality in employment and health care seems like straight up discrimination to me. So what do you guys thing? What political causes should the Church stand up for? Where do we draw the line in how forcefully we deal with the world?
2 comments:
Rights are different from priveleges. What people need to stop fighting over are rights and start deciding where to draw lines of privelege. Do we REALLY think that there weren't more suggestions than just "life, liberty, and the persuit of happiness" when our founding fathers wrote up those documents?
So let's ask ourselves the question, "what differentiates gay rights from any other rights?" If "all men are created equal," then those that get rights should include "all men," correct? Therefore, either we are clearly abusing part of the population by not extending the "rights" in question, OR (and this is critical) we are confused as to what constitutes a "right" versus a privelege.
Tax benefits, medical benefits, etc. are not "rights," because they are not ubiquetous. Non-profit organizations are extended tax benefits because of their purpose within society not because it is an inherent right. The same is true of married couples. They are extended tax benefits because it benefits society that those bearing the burden of raising children should have more resources with which to do so. However, it is that benefit, not the inherent relationship in and of itself that deserves consideration.
This whole argument I've made is only that people shouldn't be lobbying for "rights" where they are not due; to say nothing about whether they should be extended priveleges.
Russell has posted more than he needed to, again. Sigh.
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