Posted on 01/05/2006 7:07:03 PM PST by Coleus
America's corporations are under increasing pressure not only to accommodate homosexuality but to celebrate it and to punish employees who object.
Over the past two decades, hundreds of companies have adopted varying degrees of homosexual activism in their official policies. As a result, a growing number of Christians have been disciplined or fired for resisting the trend.
Elizabeth Birch, former president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest homosexual pressure group, said in 2004 that she was happily surprised that corporations have become "the driving engine" of "gay" activism.1
The HRC Web site's National Corporate Sponsors page has this introduction:
The support from corporate America to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is directly tied to HRC's overall success.2 Please show your loyalty and support by directing your friends/family to our National Corporate Sponsors, listed below.3
The list includes: Volvo, IBM, Citigroup, Chase Home Finance, Prudential Financial, Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams Furniture, Olivia travel, Hotels.com, American Airlines, Washington Mutual, Showtime, Advocate and Out magazines, Canada Tourism Commission, Nike, Deloitte tax consultants, Replacements, Ltd. ("one of the largest private gay-owned companies in America") and Shell Oil.4
Other companies that consistently promote the homosexual agenda, including "gay"-themed ads and/or support for "gay" political-pressure groups, include Kodak, Subaru, Saab, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, the Hartford Insurance Company, Starbucks, Avis, Ben & Jerry's, virtually every motion picture company, including the Walt Disney Company and Paramount, beer companies Budweiser, Miller, Coors and Molson, and many liquor companies such as Absolut Vodka and Seagram's.
Since 2002, HRC has published a Corporate Equity Index, rating companies on their pro-homosexual polices.5 In 2005, with 750 companies surveyed, the number of companies scoring a perfect 100 rose from 56 in 2004 to 101 in 2005, an 80-percent gain. It's important to keep in mind that, although many of these companies are in the Fortune 500, America has more than 5 million companies, most of which do not have pro-homosexual policies.
A few years ago, Cracker Barrel, the Tennessee-based family restaurant chain, surprised observers by adding "sexual orientation" to its employee code as it expanded into the liberal Northeast. But it still earns low marks on the Equity Index, scoring only 29.
A few surprise additions to the 100-rating club are General Mills cereals, Sears, PepsiCo, Walgreen's, Toyota and Kraft Foods. In fact, Kraft has gone as far as donating $25,000 to the "Gay Games," an Olympic-like athletics competition slated for July 2006 in Chicago.6
According to the HRC report, "[T]he most significant policy gain in 2005 was the addition of 'gender identity or expression' in corporate non-discrimination policies."7 This means companies are putting cross-dressing, transgenderism and transsexualism on the same level as race and ethnicity. HRC is going a step further, however, and has announced that companies can earn points in 2006 by paying for sex-change-related operations and hormone injections.8
A Revolution Within
The corporate embrace of homosexual activism has come with breathtaking speed.
Alan Sears and Craig Osten, authors of The Homosexual Agenda, write:
Why has corporate America been such an easy target for homosexual activists to push their agenda? One of the main reasons is that the homosexual community has a much higher level of disposable income than most families, and therefore in order to tap that market, many corporations have gone overboard in their willingness to bow to the demands of radical homosexual activists. In addition, homosexual activists, with the aid of the media, have become so adept at demonizing any corporation that does not give in to their agenda that most companies quietly cower at their feet rather than face the public relations wrath of the activists.9
Homosexual activists who target companies follow a series of steps, increasing their demands. They press for:
Paying the Price for Not Bowing Down to the Idol of 'Diversity'
Here are a few examples of how corporate homosexual activism affects employees:
Fired for Writing on His Own Time -- In Northbrook, Illinois, J. Matt Barber, a manager in Allstate's Corporate Security Division, wrote an article10 on December 17, 2004, for a conservative Web site that expressed his Christian views on homosexuality. Following a "customer" complaint by the homosexual pressure group Human Rights Campaign, Barber was called to meet with two human resources officials, who, as he describes it, "slapped down" a printed copy of the column and asked if he had written it. Barber confirmed that he had written the piece on his own time and in his own home. "Here at Allstate we have a very diverse community," he said he was told.11 The human resources assistant vice president told Barber that his column "did not reflect Allstate's view." Clearly Allstate's "diversity" does not tolerate the historic Christian faith perspective and Barber was suspended without pay and immediately escorted off company grounds.
Three days later, Barber, who had worked for Allstate for five years, was fired "for writing the article." Now, with help from the Christian Law Association and David Gibbs III, who represented Terri Schiavo's family in the final weeks of her life, Barber is challenging Allstate in federal court. One of the comments in his article that cost him his job was: "Marriage between one man and one woman, and the nuclear family, have forever been cornerstones of civilized society. Regrettably, there are, at present, many with the militant homosexual lobby who wish to take a sledge hammer to those cornerstones."
Two weeks before Barber was fired, his wife Sarah delivered their third child following a stressful, high-risk pregnancy. Allstate was notified that Sarah was facing a difficult recovery from her C-section surgery, but the company denied Barber's request to extend the insurance, cutting it immediately. The company also refused to provide him in writing the reason for his termination, Barber said.12 "This is just illustrative of what's happening around the country in corporate America," Barber said. "Allstate has 'diversity' training that is nothing short of homosexual indoctrination. They make it clear that if you don't accept it as normal, you're a homophobic bigot. Talk about creating a hostile work environment."13
Fired for Posting Bible Verses -- At Hewlett-Packard's Boise, Idaho, location, Richard Peterson had been an employee for almost 21 years when the company began a workplace-diversity campaign with "diversity posters." In response to the homosexual posters placed near his cubicle, Peterson posted Bible verses at his desk dealing with homosexuality. His supervisor removed the verses and ordered him to stop the postings. When Peterson continued to post Scriptures, he was fired for "insubordination." The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his case and wrote: "An employer need not accommodate an employee's religious beliefs if doing so would result in discrimination against his co-workers or deprive them of contractual or other statutory rights." In other words, the court affirmed the ability of employers to implement "diversity programs" that promote sexual immorality while prohibiting employees from objecting.14
"Pagan Pride" Yes; Pro-Marriage signs No -- Enoch Lawrence, an employee of the California Department of Social Services, posted Christian signs and verses at his cubicle, including a bumper sticker that said, "Marriage: One Man and One Woman." His supervisor ordered him to remove the materials because they violated a two-year-old department policy "prohibiting sexual harassment and unprofessional conduct." He was told that if he put the materials up in public view, he would be fired for "willful disobedience and insubordination." In the meantime, a "Pagan Pride" festival flier remained posted in the office. Lawrence filed a lawsuit, which is still pending, to reinstate his right to decorate his cubicle and to overturn the department's policy on "workplace expression."15
Censored: Photos of "Traditional Families" -- At Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Christian employees were told that they could not use the company bulletin board and were forced to remove posters and screen-savers that contained any religious content. Even family pictures were forbidden after homosexuals complained that they found it "offensive" to see photos of traditional families.16
"Safe Space" for Comment? Not If You're a Christian -- Betty Sabatino, a personal trust administrator for Texas Commerce Bank in San Antonio, attended a Management Orientation Seminar in which she and others were led through the Texas Commerce Policy Manual. Seminar leaders told participants that the term "sexual orientation" would be added to the nondiscrimination policy. Employees were encouraged to ask questions and were told that they were in a "safe zone," meaning that they could ask anything without consequence. Sabatino asked why the company would choose to give special consideration to people based on their sexual behavior. Afterwards, her boss took her aside and admonished her. The bank's Human Resources Department then contacted her for "counseling." Less than a month later, she was fired. The official reason given for her termination? "Loss of confidence with employee."17
"Observe" Gay Pride or Else -- The American Red Cross Blood Services in San Diego, California, fired an employee, Michael Hartman, for expressing his disagreement with homosexuality. In the latter part of May 2005, the Red Cross sent a mass e-mail to employees reminding everyone that June was Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and employees were encouraged to "observe" the celebration. The e-mail concerned Hartman, a Christian, and he expressed his sentiments to several head administrators. He was immediately reprimanded and told that his e-mail was "not appropriate." Hartman's "inappropriate" e-mail contained the following statements: "I would like to start by stating that I am a Christian not willing to compromise my beliefs to promote the agenda of the homosexual community." He added Bible verses including Galatians 6:718 and Joshua 24:15.19
After Hartman was reprimanded, Gay and Lesbian Pride posters were placed all over the office. He put together another e-mail, this time expressing his concern to the Southern California region of the Red Cross. In response, he was put on administrative leave from work and called into another meeting with administrators. After declining to meet with the administrators without a form of representation, he received a termination notice two days later. Hartman consulted the Pacific Justice Institute and plans to talk to Christian legal groups like the Alliance Defense Fund, but his legal options may be limited since the Red Cross is a privately funded organization with a "diversity code" that names "sexual orientation" as "a community to be served." According to Hartman, "If the public knew what was going on within the Red Cross, I have no doubt their unselfish support would screech to a halt."20
Conclusion
Many of the largest corporations in America have bought into the homosexual agenda and are helping to fashion a future in which Christian, orthodox Jewish and other employees who hold traditional beliefs will face discipline, loss of promotions and even get fired for their beliefs. It's also a future in which Christian-owned companies will lose contracts and face discrimination lawsuits if they act to uphold Christian morality. In California, under a state law, companies that do business with the state government must subsidize homosexual relationships, regardless of the beliefs of the company owners.
In the name of "diversity," America is becoming a place in which Christians will find themselves on the wrong side of corporate policies if they cling to their belief that marriage requires one man and one woman, and that homosexuality is outside God's plan for healthy living.
Corporate "gay" activism is a Trojan horse for the larger social agenda of destroying America's Judeo-Christian-based foundation and replacing it with an anything-goes, hedonistic society hostile to Biblical morality.
Americans should decline to support companies that are helping to create this dangerous system, and should work to roll back these ill-advised policies.
Robert Knight is director of the Culture & Family Institute, an affiliate of Concerned Women for America (CWA). Lindsey Douthit, a Baylor University graduate and 2005 CWA intern, assisted with this report.
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Sad. I think it is more about pressure than it is about money. All the gays I've ever met were dirt poor.
What this doesn't mention is that these corporations also seek to impose the same standards on their vendors and service-providers.
My law firm used to provide legal services for a large national bank that did business in our state. We got a questionnaire from the bank asking us to say how many of our attorneys were minorities, women, and lesbian and gay.
We actually do quite well on the women and minorities, but we refused to answer the questions on gays and lesbians, saying that we thought that was a private matter into which we do not inquire (which is true)or keep any records (and we do in fact have gay and lesbian attorneys). We were then stricken from the Bank's list of approved law firms.
Thanks for the post. A most disturbing read.
One wonders who will be left to pick up the pieces?
It's ironic - no it's hypocritical - that the Red Cross would force a homosexual agenda on it's employees.
Yet, when a homosexual wishes to donate blood, the the Red Cross DENIES (naturally, the right thing to do) that blood, due to the fact the giver engages in dangerous conduct that places that blood at high risk.
Thus Gramsci's "long march through the institutions" continues on. What's even more amazing are scores of useful idiots in conservative ranks who unfailingly stand behind the CEOs and other corporatist commissars who actively promote such cultural Marxism.
Guess what, El Rushbo, Hannity, and followers? The Bill Gateses, Sumner Redstones, and Ted Turners of this world, along with all of their adoring sycophants, have thoroughly bought into the entire one-world leftist-PC agenda and are busily shoving it down everyone's throat. These folks are so utterly treasonous and disgusting that I'm starting to think that Muslims might actually be preferable.
Forcing a person for accepting that which he rejects is violence. We all know that homosexuality is an arrested development. To get fired for saying so is humiating and confusing.
It's worse than I thought.
Gack. Read/pingout tomorrow.
The only value corporate America understands is the value of money. There is absolutely nothing else, be it country society, or family. This is more true today than ever before and it will become even more true in the future.
A belated but informative ping! Intimidation -a tool of the left...
Thanks for your perseverence - I meant to read it and it got "lost" in the shuffle.
Everyone should read this.
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