Microsoft may rethink position on gay-rights bill

Too damn late, Microsoft. The bill died with a one vote loss in the Senate. This was the first year the Washington State gay rights bill made it out of the House. It died in the Senate by one vote. This is also the THIRD DECADE that they’ve been trying to give equal rights in hiring, housing, and state services to gay citizens in the state of Washington.

Microsoft, it would have been nice to have your support. Now that the bill is dead, it’s easy to sit back and say, “Next time this one comes around, we’ll see”. And for the record, you will never convince me that you didn’t cave in to pressure. Shame on you.

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Microsoft may re-evaluate whether to support state legislation that would ban discrimination against gays and lesbians, Chairman Bill Gates said yesterday.

Gates said Microsoft was surprised by the sharp reaction after it became known that the company took a neutral position on the perennial measure this year, after actively supporting it in previous years.

“Next time this one comes around, we’ll see,” he said. “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.” (source)