Breaking: Wal-Mart Asks Governor Hutchinson to Veto H.B. 1228
Source: HRC
In response to the Arkansas House sending Governor Asa Hutchinson H.B. 1228 to sign into law, Wal-Mart released a statement from its CEO, Doug McMillan, asking the governor to veto the bill. H.B. 1228 would permit discrimination against LGBT people, people of color, religious minorities, women and other minority groups across the state based on sincerely-held religious beliefs.
In the statement, McMillan says:
Every day in our stores, we see firsthand the benefits diversity and inclusion have on our associates, customers and communities we serve. It all starts with our core basic belief of respect for the individual. Todays passage of H.B. 1228 threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of Arkansas and does not reflect the values we proudly uphold. For these reasons, we are asking Governor Hutchinson to veto this legislation."
H.B.1228, known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, could allow any person to ignore state laws and cite their personal religious beliefs as an excuse to discriminate against others. For instance, a teacher who puts an anti-bullying policy into practice could be at risk of being sued, or a police officer could sue their precinct because patrolling a synagogue violated their religious beliefs. Wal-Mart joins dozens of corporate leaders and businesses who have condemned the legislation, including Apple and its CEO Tim Cook; Acxiom, one of Arkansas largest employers; Yelp; PayPal; the Arkansas Municipal League and the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce. Similar legislation signed into law in Indiana has received a torrent of criticism, as companies like Salesforce, Angies List and others have stated that they will cut back on or limit investment in the state of Indiana because of the discriminatory new law.
Read more: http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/breaking-wal-mart-asks-governor-hutchinson-to-veto-h.b.-1228
The one time I will EVER agree with WalMart.
villager
(26,001 posts)Where's that popcorn...?
valerief
(53,235 posts)As if.
catbyte
(34,504 posts)OrwellwasRight
(5,170 posts)jeff47
(26,549 posts)Wal-Mart policy makers probably realize the value of diversity policy.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)And yes, surprisingly, I do agree with Walmart. Their decision is purely driven by money, as are all corporate decisions. But thankfully businesses have seen that this law means less money.
mrmpa
(4,033 posts)The company may have a policy of inclusion, but individual stores might not follow tht policy i.e. associates may cite this law when refusing to wait on customers who are LGBT, or of another faith etc., because of their "sincerely held" religious beliefs.
Yallow
(1,926 posts)They gotta get out in front of this thing. Can't blame 'em.
Let's not pretend Walmart has ever cared in the slightest about human rights. This is about money, and they don't want the loss of profits that come with that.
Sorry, but I won't give them credit for this while they continue to impoverish and hurt PoC and others on a massive scale.
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)and the effect it will have in the negative, long term & short term
Yallow
(1,926 posts)I really don't want people that think the world is only 6,000 years old having a voice in any kind of government that affects my life. They can go into their caves and worship rocks for all I care. Just stay away from my government. The one based on "freedom" and where every man is created equal. Even gays.
American is not a christian nation. It is a free nation. There is a big difference.
Take your gay hating, pregnant teen hating, reality hating, history hating, bigoted ChristoFascist asses outa here.
Freaks.
You said so well what I have been thinking for years.
Some people just feel the need to control others and exclude people. They always need to feel certain people are 'lesser' than them. It's a terrible thing, unless one is using religion. Then it's suddenly ok.
"I hate f*ags"
"You're a bigot and a horrible person."
"God says f*gs are disgusting and we shouldn't even acknowledge them at all."
"Oh, God says it? Ok, no problem. Can you help us craft some legislation? We want to make sure your precious 'God hates f*gs' beliefs are protected."
alp227
(32,070 posts)AngryDem001
(684 posts)The repubs are having to decide between "sincerely-held beliefs" and the "free market"!
They always say: "Let the Free Market decide." Well, the answer is NO!
Gothmog
(145,754 posts)BeanMusical
(4,389 posts)Lol, but of course. Well I hope that it will help.
lapfog_1
(29,238 posts)The insane conservatives, outraged by Walmart's statement, might start their own boycott.
The vast majority of these people, mostly in rural small town America, will now starve to death given that Walmart ran off all of the small grocery stores and mom and pop shops in these small towns.
After their customer base dies off, Walmart goes out of business too!
Win - Win
( OK, this is a joke... I really don't want these conservative idiots to literally starve... although Walmart going out of business would be good for everyone )
sinkingfeeling
(51,485 posts)Walmart, so does he make them mad and sign the bill? Or does he veto the bill and lose the support of all the Walmart shoppers?