Slightly less than a year after all the fuss about the elimination of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the US military officially commemorated Gay Pride month which is currently going on, although the most senior service chiefs did not attend., which is being interpreted as a sign of lingering discomfort among the old guard.
The next step will be for the partners of military personnel to get the same benefits as married spouses, which currently they do not because the federal government does not award federal benefits to same sex couples even if their marriage is recognized by the state in which they live. This is currently being adjudicated in the courts.
Of course, the opponents of equal rights for gays and lesbians are still out there, fighting a rear-guard battle to combat the increasing acceptance of gay people by the population in general and the business community in particular. Take a look at the comments by people upset with Nabisco because it put out an image of a rainbow Oreo cookie to celebrate gay pride month. Yes, these people are upset by a cookie.
Give it up, folks. When corporate America signals that it is comfortable with a new social order by featuring it in advertisements and promotions, the battle is effectively over and it is only a matter of time before full acceptance. Just be gracious and accept the fact that very soon gays and lesbians will have the same rights as everyone else.
To be fair, I think corporate America’s acceptance of gays is driven by profit. The overwhelming majority of young people are pro-gay rights, and thus companies stand to gain a lot by catering to this demographic. Of course, I’d bet many people in the company are themselves pro-gay rights, but if public opinion quickly turned, for whatever reason, I’m sure the companies would be even quicker to follow.
I don’t think Mr. Singham doubted that. Quite the opposite, precisely the fact that being pro-gay rights for large corporations is not only not PR poison but arguably a PR advantage, is the litmus test in America.
Yes, absolutely profit drives them. That is precisely why this is significant, because corporations are not leading indicators of social change, they are lagging indicators, taking a side only when they think it is safe to do so. They clearly think that this change is irreversible.
That’s an insightful way to put it!
I went to Pride (accompanied by two evangelical Christian women, in fact) in Minneapolis this last weekend. It made me very happy to see all of that corporate sponsorship.
Agreed. Businesses don’t take public stands like this without weighing the risk very carefully. They’ve determined that public sentiment is enough in favor of gay rights that they can already profit from this. This makes me want to do a happy dance for all of my LGBTQ friends.
although the most senior service chiefs did not attend.
Yeah. If I were commander in chief, every single one of their careers would end, right there. Because obviously, they are not leadership material.
Most of that is prevented by DOMA. But the military could do more. The State Department for example provides some benefits to same-sex couples, including joint assignments and access to facilities.