From the site nogaynoway.com: "31 states fail to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Surprisingly, nine of those states are home to 11 of the 20 finalist cities vying for Amazon’s second headquarters. It is shocking that Amazon would consider locating HQ2 with its over 50,000 employees in a state that doesn’t protect LGBT people or their families. In these nine states, it is legal to fire someone, deny them housing, or refuse them service just because of who they are or who they love."
We've come so far, but still have so far to go. You should not fear for your job or shelter because you happen to love someone who is not of the opposite sex.
(Happy Valentine's Day)
Weather Diary, Feb 13: Hi 51, Low 26/ Precip trace
Wednesday Vignettes are hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum. All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
That is a good question. I'd go one further. Why choose a city in this currently f-ed-up country? I'm rooting for Toronto.
ReplyDeleteWell I would kind of be sad to see them leave the country, but there is some logic there.
DeleteHappy Valentines Day, Loree!
ReplyDeleteRight back atcha!
DeleteI heard a story on NPR on Saturday about conservative lawmakers in Georgia being scared as hell of the liberal tide that might sweep over the state if Amazion picks Atlanta for their 2nd HQ. Ha!
ReplyDeleteOh that's lovely! Thanks for the happy news!
DeleteSeriously - I had no idea there were so many states left... and kind of surprised that Alabama is not part of them. Anyway, I have to say Alison has a good point, but so does Gerhard. It might involve dramatic changes to the voter base if they choose Georgia - at least eventually, by osmosis. I have a feeling Georgia is like Ohio - the larger cities lean left, whereas it's all the rural counties and the surgically precise redlining of the last couple of decades, that keep them red. But Gerhard's comment gave me hope. :)
ReplyDelete"surgically precise redlining"... and so it goes...
DeleteOh, and who is Alexa?
ReplyDeleteAnna, I love you! (I'll let Wikipedia take it from here): "Alexa is an intelligent personal assistant developed by Amazon, first used in the Amazon Echo and the Amazon Echo Dot devices developed by Amazon Lab126. It is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, and other real-time information, such as news.[2] Alexa can also control several smart devices using itself as a home automation system."
DeleteHaha - proof of the severity of my pop culture detachment. Thanks for the clarification!
DeleteVery clever and very disturbing. Despite our current state govt., Wisconsin was one of the first states to enact those protections.
ReplyDeleteGo Wisconsin!
DeleteHere Here ! I wonder what Siri thinks..
ReplyDeleteI asked her, she gave me a nice long list of links on the subject, but didn't share her personal opinion.
DeleteBeing from Austin, I feel the need to clarify a little here. Politifact Texas ranked a similar statement as half true back in 2013 (http://www.politifact.com/texas/article/2013/jul/30/some-texas-workers-can-be-fired-being-gay/). As Anna K mentions when discussing Georgia, Texas is also a state where the larger cities (and the Rio Grande Valley) are liberal, and the more rural areas tend to be conservative. As the Politifact article states, many of these larger cities (Austin, Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth) have laws in place protecting people from being fired for their sexual orientation, but sadly, in any area without those protections, one can be fired for any cause as long as it isn't illegal. I don't think Austin can handle the influx of 50,000 people, but I hope Amazon lands in Dallas-I'd welcome more liberal voters to the state any day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of your wonderful and inspiring posts, Loree!
Thank you Maggie, people think of Oregon as being liberal but in truth it's very conservative once you're out of the coastal area/I-5 corridor. Luckily that's also where the population centers are, so we tend to carry the state in elections. Here's hoping for a liberalization of Dallas!
DeleteHear, hear!
ReplyDeleteHere! (oh wait, they already rejected Portland's bid...)
DeleteGerhard, thank you for that thought.
ReplyDeleteI just have to say I love the slogan "No Gay No Way."
Happy Wednesday/Valentines Day and I hope everyone/everything made it through that little freeze okay.
Ya, "no gay no way" does have a catchy sound and of course lots of meaning. So far so good with the cold. Next week has me on edge though...
DeleteA very interesting question! And the comments you received were interesting too. I still vote for freezing out states that aren't prepared to be supportive on social rights issues, though. While the influx of new people might turn the tide, the process would be slow and the lesson of losing out because the state's out of step with the times might be the slap some politicians need to wake up.
ReplyDeleteI do like the notion of "rewarding" rather than attempting to turn the tide...and if there were a "why we didn't chose you" statement that included the social rights issues then yes, that slap would be real.
DeleteLoree, I love your warm, inclusive heart! I sincerely hope Amazon thinks exactly as you do. Happy Valentine’s Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane, Happy V Day to you and Ben!
DeleteFor what it's worth:
ReplyDeletehttps://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/amazons-founder-pledges-2-5-million-in-support-of-same-sex-marriage/
Thanks Anon, and before I posted this I read a lot of very positive information about what Amazon has said and done on this subject in the past. Let's hope they keep the positive momentum going forward!
DeleteAmen, sister!
ReplyDelete