Is Proposition 8 Bad for Business?

by Michael Jones · 2008-10-29 07:28:00 UTC
Topics:

BusinessYes.  It is.

But before I explain, today is Write to Marry Day, an effort organized by bloggers to make October 29 a day for writing about marriage equality, and opposing anti-gay measures like California's Proposition 8.  So write away today to defend marriage equality and marriage rights.

So what's this about Proposition 8 being bad for business?  Today's San Diego Union Tribune has the scoop, and it comes from leaders in the biotechnology field who are saying that if Proposition 8 is passed, it will put California businesses at a competitive disadvantage to states like Massachusetts and Connecticut, which recognize gay marriage. Here's the gist, featuring a quote from Laurent Fischer, the Chief Executive of Ocera Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company:

San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area account for more than 50 percent of the world's biotechnology might. The California biotech industry competes with other regions for funding, employees and companies that bring in millions of dollars annually in revenue and high-paying salaries.

The proposition could be the impetus for people working here to pack up and leave for friendlier environs, said Fischer, who is also chairman of the AIDS Healthcare Network, a Los Angeles nonprofit that provides medical care to AIDS patients around the globe.

“The governor of Massachusetts has made it very clear that he recognizes this is a competitive and lucrative industry and he'd do everything he can to attract companies,” Fischer said. “And this is a sure opportunity for Massachusetts to feature its benefits that are not available in California should Proposition 8 pass.”

It's not just the biomedical field that recognizes the harm Proposition 8 could do to California businesses if the measure is passed.  Google, Apple, Qualcomm, Levi Strauss, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), and AT&T, to name a select few, have all come out against Proposition 8 because at its core, it's bad for business.

Republicans Against 8 also get this, saying that if Proposition 8 passes, it will be harder for businesses to recruit qualified employees, who might be turned off at seeing discrimination written into the California state constitution.

So there you have it.  Proposition 8.  Bad for LGBT people.  Bad for families.  Bad for children.  And now, bad for business.  What's the reason for passing this thing again?

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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