Is Proposition 8 Bad for Business?

Published October 29, 2008 @ 07:28AM PT

Business Yes. 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?

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Comments (2)

I missed the deadline on the official site, but here's what I wrote for today:

http://oboe-wan.blogspot.com/2008/10/write-to-marry-day.html

I don't live in CA, but I've encouraged my friends who do to vote NO!

I wish I had better writing skills, but I wrote:
"Don't vote to limit people's rights. In the zeal to limit the rights of some, people forget that it will eventually lead to limitations on their own rights."

Posted by Lisa Smolen on 10/29/2008 @ 08:35AM PT
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Michael, Thank you for your article and for quoting the San Diego Union Tribune on their article. We unfortunately live in a rather conservative part of California but have a very vibrant industry with a high number of GLBT working in Life Sciences and feel strongly about equality.

BIOCOM, the Southern California Biotech Association, has not taken a position on the topic, feeling that there was "No relevance" to the industry despite requests from several CEOs, scientists and investors to get involved, so while the PResident of BIOCOM is on a junket with his wife in Australia and has not replied to any of our requests and letter via email, we felt that we should go directly to the media.

Good luck on Write to Marry day.

Laurent

Posted by Laurent Fischer on 10/29/2008 @ 12:38PM PT
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Author

Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.