Reply #24: NYT: Microsoft is re-examining legislative priorities

[dzika]

April 27, 2005

Microsoft Weighs Reversal on Gay Rights, Gates Says

By SARAH KERSHAW

Bill Gates, at a Microsoft
conference in Seattle on Monday,
is re-examining legislative
priorities.

SEATTLE, April 26 - Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, has indicated he may reconsider his company's decision not to support a Washington State gay rights bill amid the growing firestorm inside and outside the company that exploded after the recent disclosure that Microsoft had changed its position on the bill.

In an interview with The Seattle Times on Monday, Mr. Gates, who rarely grants interviews and declined through a spokesman Tuesday to grant one to The New York Times, indicated that he was surprised by the backlash to the company's turnaround on the legislation. He also suggested that Microsoft, which had been known for decades as a corporate leader on gay rights and had supported the bill in previous years, might change course next year because of the controversy.

The bill was defeated by one vote in the State Senate last week. Microsoft had withdrawn its support, and critics said the company was under pressure from a prominent local evangelical minister who threatened a boycott of Microsoft products.

"We certainly have a lot of employees who sent us mail," Mr. Gates told The Seattle Times. "Next time it comes around that'll be a major factor for us to take into consideration."

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