“We need help from straight people. To be very frank, we need help from wealthy straight people who care about us and who want to help us win. … I suspect you support marriage equality. I beg you not to sit on the sidelines and hope the vote goes our way.”
— Letter from early Amazon.com employee Jennifer Cast to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, asking Bezos to donate to Washington United for Marriage, which is fighting a November ballot initiative that would turn back same-sex marriage in the state. Bezos responded by donating $2.5 million. (International Business Times, July 30)
“ We are proud to be recognized as a leader in LGBT inclusion efforts, but there is still a long way to go to achieve full equality. Legalize Love is our call to decriminalize homosexuality and eliminate homophobia around the world.”
— Press statement from Google.com on its “Legalize Love” campaign that launched last month.
“We do not believe the proposed constitutional amendment [to ban gay marriage] is in the best interests of our employees or our state economy. We value diversity. We value inclusion.”
— Ken Charles, General Mills vice president for global diversity and inclusion, explaining why the Minnesota-based company is taking a stand against a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage in the state. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 14)