Over the past 14 years American voters have been taking a stand at the ballot box. In 1998, Alaska passed Joint Resolution 42 with 68% approval stating that “a marriage may only exist between one man and one woman.” In the years following Alaska’s lead, voters in 29 other states have passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. This year Washington State, Minnesota, and Maryland have gotten enough signatures and will be voting on whether or not to uphold traditional marriage.
The American people have voiced their opinion time after time on this matter and overwhelmingly they have supported traditional marriage. That is the basis of a democracy, and the people have spoken. Yet, major companies like Amazon.com, General Mills, Microsoft, Target, JC Penny, Home Depot, Starbucks Inc., Disney, and Nike seem to think differently than the American people. In recent days, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos gave a donation of $2.5 million to help keep same-sex marriage legal in Washington State. Mark Solomon, the campaign manager for Freedom to Marry, believes that “companies are a bellwether of what is in the mainstream.”
Unfortunately, Mark Solomon understands what money and influence can provide. Even with a vast majority of Americans believing that same-sex marriage should be illegal, these companies are seeking to change that with their money. They say it’s “good for business.” John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management U.S., shared why, “we’re all competing for talent, we’re trying to recruit and retain the best people out there. If you’re going to succeed in business you have to do diversity well.”
The issue is, though, that just because it’s good for business does not mean it’s good for the rest of us. Slave labor was great for business. Child labor really helped the bottom line. Business also gave us “sex sells,” which has helped lead to 41% of child births occurring to single mothers. Allowing a businessman to tell you what is right and wrong is a dangerous path. As Americans, we need to have a foundation based on morals and character and not allow our judgment to be based on a CEO’s bottom line.
