As national advocates for gay-owned and certified businesses, we found an op-ed recently penned by Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford (R) and Rep. Randy Forbes (R) of Virginia insulting as they compared Chipotle’s decision to serve only sustainably sourced pork with the alleged right for businesses to also deny service to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patrons in the name of religious freedom.
What Lankford and Forbes failed to see is that their faulty comparison affirms our view – lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans deserve equal protections in the face of bigotry and intolerance.
{mosads}The next important step in this debate will occur when the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the case to legalize gay marriage in April.
As national advocates for gay-owned and certified businesses, we understand the ramifications if the justices reject marriage.
LGBT married couples who already own businesses will face higher taxes because they will lose tax benefits straight married couples enjoy. This means a loss of the ability to jointly file taxes, the loss of the ability to share assets without paying gift taxes, and higher estate taxes if one spouse was to die.
The losers in this equation will be the same-sex married couples and the thousands of other straight Americans who depend on these businesses.
We are fortunate that our views are supported by some of the biggest corporations in America. Apple, Bank of America, PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson, Hilton, AT&T, Wells Fargo, some professional sports teams, and nearly 400 other businesses sent an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the court should legalize gay marriage across the country.
The brief states that “Employees with partners of the same sex should be permitted to marry if they so choose, and then should be treated identically to their married heterosexual counterparts. State laws that require otherwise impose a significant burden on us and harm our ability to attract and retain the best employees. Such laws force businesses to uphold discriminatory laws that run counter to important corporate values. In the end, economic growth suffers.”
Many major companies also seek to include LGBT-owned and certified businesses in their corporate supply chain.
These companies are dedicated to making a profit, and they realize the best way to do that is to allow all Americans a seat at the table. Discrimination is bad business. It reduces employee productivity, hampers innovation and stagnates the economy.
Unfortunately, there is no federal law protecting LGBT workers against discrimination based on their sexual orientation. In fact, there are still 29 states where workers can be fired for being gay.
The LGBT community, in cooperation with the business community, must reclaim the phrase “good for business.”
We oppose so-called “religious freedom” laws, such as the one recently enacted in Indiana, and want to expose them for what they are — legalized bigotry that actually hurts business.
We must stop these laws and the accompanying rhetoric before this mindset becomes an even stronger staple of anti-LGBT politicians and pundits.
The LGBT and business communities are not in competition. LGBT people and freedom are not in competition. Period. Businesses thrive and expand in inclusive, innovative environments.
Perhaps if these members of Congress met with more small business owners and Fortune 500 CEOs, they would see how far behind the times they are right now.
Pocan has represented Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District since 2013. He sits on the Budget and the education and the Workforce committees. He is an openly gay m ember of Congress who also runs a small business with his husband in Madison, Wisconsin. Nelson and Mitchell are co-founders of The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the business voice of the LGBT community.