As Sasha Issenberg, author of “The Engagement: America’s Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage,” has written, gay marriage is legal today because of similar pressure activists applied more than a decade ago. Jayapal and the others have a good reason to speak up: because it works. She went on to call out American Airlines (which donated $46,617 to Mitch McConnell’s 2020 campaign), Walmart ($150,000 to McConnell and other GOP senators), and the defense contractor Raytheon (whose PAC gave $18,500 to McConnell’s campaign). But what a great Pride Twitter banner,” Jayapal tweeted last week. “AT&T donated $56,295 to Mitch McConnell’s 2020 campaign - while he was actively blocking the Equality Act.
Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has been highlighting the hypocrisy of those corporations offering lip service in support of gay rights, while also offering material support to McConnell. The Equality Act first passed the House back in 2019, but then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refused to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote. Senate has the opportunity this month to pass the Equality Act, a law that would federally prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation - if enough Republicans get on board to pass it. (Anheuser-Busch did not respond to a request for comment.) NBCUniversal - celebrating Pride Month with oodles of queer content on its platforms and channels - made 16 donations totaling $24,000 to 11 anti-LGBTQ legislators. (NBC Universal did not respond to a request for comment either.)īut it’s not just local lawmakers standing in the way of progress for the gay community. The beer giant Anheuser-Busch professes a commitment to “promoting inclusion and diversity across our business and supporting the communities we stand by whether through impactful partnerships or empowering our teams.” But the company has made 48 donations totaling $35,350 to 29 anti-LGBTQ legislators, according to the group. Asked about the gifts, a representative for Coca-Cola noted that the donations in question occurred before the company “updated our political contributions criteria” in the fall of 2020, declaring explicitly that “candidates will not be eligible for a political contribution from The Coca-Cola Company or the Coca-Cola PAC if they have made egregious remarks” on a range of topics that including the “LGBT community.” (Coke “paused” political giving in response to the January 6th attack on the U.S. (GM did not respond to a request for comment.) The Coca-Cola Company claims to show its support for the gay community by doing everything “from supporting LGBTQI pride parades to running rainbow-colored billboards.” Meanwhile, Corporate Accountability Action found Coke and its affiliated PAC have made 28 donations totaling $9,550 to 23 anti-LGBTQ legislators. General Motors - which boasts of being “first automaker to run an LGBTQ-specific ad” - made 63 donations totaling $51,000 to 35 anti-LGBTQ legislators, according to Corporate Accountability Action’s research.