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 Pastor Calls On Conservatives To Buy
Microsoft Shares To Topple Gay Rights Rule
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 17, 2007 - 4:00 pm ET
(Seattle, Washington) Gay rights foe Rev. Ken
Hutcherson is calling on religious conservatives to buy stock in Microsoft so
they can force a shareholders vote on the company's policy that provides
equality for gay workers.
Hutcherson, whose megachurch is a stone's throw
from Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, caused a stir at the
company's recent annual meeting, demanding the world's biggest computer company
abandon its LGBT worker policy.
Microsoft's directors urged shareholders to
reject the attempt, and the issue failed to get enough support for a vote, but
Hutcherson is undeterred.
Following the meeting he told the British
newspaper The Daily Telegraph that he intends to keep lobbying and will urge
Christian and Jewish conservatives to buy shares in the company so they can
vote.
He also told the paper that Microsoft is only the
first public company he intends to target.
"There are 256 Fortune 500 companies alone
pouring millions upon millions of dollars into pushing the homosexual
agenda," he told The Daily Telegraph.
"I consider myself a warrior for Christ.
Microsoft don't scare me. I got God with me.
As for any comparison with LGBT rights and civil
rights for African Americans, Hutcherson says there is none.
"How many homosexuals have you ever seen had
to ride on the back of a bus? I haven't seen one. I know that many blacks have
in the past.
"I've never seen an ex-black. Michael
Jackson couldn't even achieve that. But I've seen ex-gays. We minister to them
every day. We talk to them about how to get out of that sin."
Hutcherson has been battling Microsoft and the
state of Washington over LGBT rights for two years.
When a gay rights bill was before the legislature
in 2005 Hutcherson met with company executives and threatened a national boycott
of the computer giant if it did not disavow itself from the gay rights bill.
Microsoft earlier had announced its support for
the legislation saying it would help attract talented workers to the state.
Following Hutcherson's threat the company
distanced itself from the bill and the measure lost by a single vote in the
Senate (story)
sparking outrage from Microsoft's LGBT workers and gay consumers around the
world.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer then sent an email to
employees claiming that the company had made a decision before the legislative
session began that it should to narrow its focus on a shorter list of issues
directly affecting the business. (story)
But, that explanation, in light of details of the
meeting between Microsoft and Hutcherson, failed to appease LGBT advocates. Even
an attempt by Microsoft chair Bill Gates to quiet opposition failed.
"Next time this one comes around, we'll
see," Gates told the Seattle Times a few weeks later. "We certainly
have a lot of employees who sent us mail. Next time it comes around that'll be a
major factor for us to take into consideration."
When the storm showed no sign of abating
Microsoft came full circle, announcing that it would once again support LGBT
civil rights. (story)
The measure was reintroduced in 2006 and passed.
Hutcherson then began a petition drive to force a
statewide vote on repealing the rights law but failed to get enough signatures
to put the issue on the ballot.
©365Gay.com 2007
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