Study proves anti-gay laws have negative impact on businesses

One of my favorite sites, Unicorn Booty has posted some information regarding the negative effects of anti-gay laws on businesses and their employees. And it think it would do the community some good to drill this information constantly until we can repeat it by heart:

Right now, Georgia is eyeing two anti-LGBT “religious exemption” bills: the “Pastor Protection Act” ensuring that pastors won’t being sued for refusing to perform same-sex marriages, and the “First Amendment Defense Act” which would let religious nonprofits deny services to same-sex couples. In response, a group of more than 400 businesses calling themselves Georgia Prospers has come out against the bill reasoning it runs counter to Georgia’s friendly culture. But there’s another reason that people should oppose it: namely, such bills are financially harmful to everyone whether you’re a employed person, an LGBT-person or just an average citizen.

In January of 2016, The Center for Talent and Innovation — a project stemming from 80 global corporations and organizations representing nearly 6 million employees in 192 countries — published “Out in the World: Securing LGBT Rights in the Global Marketplace”, study of 1,964 LGBT professionals and 10,242 non-LGBT professionals in 10 countries around the world. The study revealed the negative impact that anti-LGBT laws can have on businesses, their employees and the world economy.

They also released an infographic about those harms, and also illustrated what businesses can do to help make countries more LGBT-friendly, benefitting employees and citizens both.

Here’s some of the study’s findings, as outlined in The Economist:

- One in five closeted LGBT employees said staying closeted at work “reduced their ambition and caused them to work less.

– Almost 30 percent of closeted employees said “hiding their identity kept them from speaking up or sharing innovative ideas at work.”

– Closeted employees are three times more likely to leave their companies in the next year, compared to their openly LGBT colleagues

– Forty-two percent of LGBT employees around the world reported that they had experienced discrimination in the last five years because of their identity.”

For more information, particularly the detailed infographic, see Unicorn Booty. 

'AL court twice smacked down by lgbt progress, equality' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Roy Moore can't stop the progress of lgbt equality

Supreme Court Slaps Down Anti-Gay Alabama Justices In Adoption Case - Alabama's anti-gay justices have to get over themselves for the second time in the face of progress. This time in an adoption case. 

Ala. Supreme Court dismisses petitions opposing same-sex marriage - This the first time and they WERE not happy about it, particularly Justice Roy Moore.

 S.D. anti-trans bill inspires mixed reaction at CPAC - The recent veto by South Dakota's governor of an anti-transgender bill did not provoke a uniformity of negative opinion at a recent Republican conference, CPAC. People tend to understand lgbt issues when they are personally involved. 

 Gay Fox News Contributor Guy Benson: Gay People Should Be More Tolerant of Discrimination - This article sticks in my craw and burns me for so many reasons. For one thing, the angle of these folks at CPAC is so full of crap. I will not tolerate the false right of someone to treat me like a second class citizen and I shouldn't. Secondly, while I have no problem with any coverage of Guy Benson, there are times when he invokes so much anger in me due to the fact that part of me thinks that he gets coverage because he is the typical twinkish looking, skinny gay white man who gets all sorts of coverage while the rest of us folks who don't fit the pattern get left out. Yes, he has a major role in conservative politics, but I know there are people of color out there who have leadership positions in organizations or are activists (HELLO!) who deserve as much or even more coverage and NOT just when the article talks about lgbts of coverage. African-American lgbt leaders and potential leaders have a say in the mainstream lgbt fight for equality. Don't mistake our desire to be heard as a way to box us up in a category. If you can focus (and in some cases) interview a skinny twinkish looking thing who is fighting against his community's own interest, you should invest as much energy in finding and focusing on lgbts of color who are fighting for our equality, and not just in an article talking about lgbts of color. Okay, enough of my rant.  I hope it made sense.

Anti-Gay Indiana Lawmakers Have Inspired Cities Across State to Add LGBT Protections - Classic case of when plans for evil backfire and create good.

  5 Gay And Lesbian Parenting Myths Debunked - MUCH NEEDED information.

Cruz to be joined at campaign rally by activist who blamed Holocaust on gays

After several primary wins, it would seem that Ted Cruz is emerging as at least a decent roadblock in Donald Trump's road to the White House.

Of course the media will probably focus on this and omit the fact that a "Cruz presidency" would be extremely disastrous for the lgbt community, Right Wing Watch illustrates why:

We have noted several times before that there seems to be no activist who is too extreme to be embraced by Ted Cruz's presidential campaign and that continues to be the case as today, the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer announced that he will be joining Cruz at a campaign rally in Mississippi on Monday. .

 . . . As we explained in a post that we wrote last year, Fischer is one of the Religious Right's most radical activists and regularly displays stunning levels of bigotry against gays, Muslims and anyone who doesn't share his extremist views: Back in 2009, Bryan Fischer was an obscure state-level Religious Right activist with a history of getting fired for his radical views. From his position as head of the Idaho Values Alliance, Fischer was mostly known for launching boycotts against Hallmark stores for offering cards for gay weddings and celebrating a fatal plane crash as God's payback for abortion. Fischer's radicalism and bigotry were obvious even back then, but that didn't stop the American Family Association from wooing Fischer away from Idaho with an offer to serve as the organization's "director of issues analysis" and host a daily radio program down in Tupelo, Mississippi. Within months of his arrival at AFA, Fischer was already using his national platform to spread his unmitigated bigotry, starting with his demand that all Muslims be banned from serving in the U.S. military, a position that he continues to steadfastly promote to this day. Within a year, Fischer was using his position at AFA to declare that homosexuality should be illegal and that gays should be treated like criminals and banned from serving in public office. While Fischer was advocating for the deportation of all Muslims and an end to the building of mosques in America, the AFA continued to provide him a platform, just as it did when he began calling for whales and bears to be put to death for biblical infractions and blaming the Holocaust on gays.

Believe it or not, compared to other things Fischer has said about lgbts and Muslims, the statements above can be considered mild.  Go to Right Wing Watch to get the full list of Fischer's statements.