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Saturday, April 23, 2005

Gay rights group asks Microsoft to return award
Company blasted for ending support of bill

By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A gay and lesbian advocacy group that gave Microsoft Corp. a civil rights award four years ago has asked the company to give it back, blasting the software maker for withdrawing its support of a state bill that would have outlawed discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Darrel Cummings, chief of staff for the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, said in a statement yesterday that Microsoft appeared to have yielded to anti-gay extremists.

Microsoft, which has offered benefits to same-sex couples since the early 1990s and supported versions of the bill in the past, said it decided to take a neutral position this year so it could sharpen its focus on a shorter list of legislative priorities.

The bill banning discrimination against homosexuals in housing, employment and insurance failed by one vote in the Senate Thursday. The House passed the bill by a 61-37 vote two months ago.

Ken Hutcherson, pastor at Antioch Bible Church, met with Microsoft in February, threatening to launch a national boycott of its products if it didn't come out against the bill, according to a Thursday story in the Seattle weekly The Stranger.

Microsoft spokeswoman Tami Begasse insisted the company's decision to remain neutral came before the legislative session began in January. "(Hutcherson) urged us to change our position from neutral to negative, but we declined," Begasse said.

In a story published yesterday, The New York Times reported that the bill's sponsor, Rep. Ed Murray, said Microsoft's top lawyer told him last month that the company was feeling pressure from Hutcherson and was concerned how its Christian employees might react if it supported the bill. Messages left with Hutcherson and Murray were not returned yesterday.

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