Companies Wave The Pride Banner, Give Millions For Anti-LGBTQ Laws
Dozens of corporations are talking the talk as they proudly post their rainbow Proud flags welcoming the LGBTQ community and the millions of dollars in their wallets, while the same companies aren’t walking the walk to the tune of millions in donations they give to anti-LGBTQ organizations and politicians.
LGBTQ Pride month is being celebrated from June 1 to June 30, to celebrate and commemorate gay, bisexual, and transgender pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and has since spread outside of the United States.
It should come as no surprise that the support for the LGBTQ community has little to do with human rights and mostly to do with corporate profits, a practice known as “pink washing.”
Last week, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ civil rights advocacy organization in the United States, declared a “state of emergency” for the first time in its 40-year history following an “unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year.”
State lawmakers who played a key role in passing 62 “anti-LGBTQ” bills in the first six months of 2023 have received millions from companies that signed an HRC petition condemning legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, according to published reports.
The most recent example of corporate hypocrisy came when Anheuser-Busch prompted nationwide anger from the anti-LGBTQ community after it created an ad campaign featuring trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The company paid Mulvaney to post a 60-second video but the money is just a token amount compared with the $7 billion the company spends each year on marketing. The Mulvaney promotion was a modest expenditure to increase the brand’s appeal to LGBTQ people, a community with more than $1 trillion in annual purchasing power.
Behind the scenes, since Jan. 2022, Anheuser-Bush donated $227,108 to anti-gay politicians, including the sponsors of anti-LGBTQ legislation in Texas and Florida and 29 members of Congress who were rated zero by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s most prominent LGBTQ rights organization.
A report found that since 2022, 25 major corporations donated $13.5 million to anti-gay politician. The report by the Popular Information newsletter involved reviewing tens of thousands of federal and state campaign finance records, hundreds of social media posts and websites, and contacting dozens of companies.
All 25 corporations included in the analysis were highly rated by HRC’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index, which reflects workplace policies and corporations’ “public commitment to the LGBTQ community.” But HRC’s methodology does not reflect political donations.
Another major contributor to anti-LGBTQ lawmakers is Comcast NBCUniversal which claims that it “celebrates Pride and LGBTQ+ changemakers, organizations, and entertainers all year long.”
“Throughout Pride Month, we’re showcasing how Pride is Universal across the company through our unparalleled content destinations and partnerships with LGBTQ-led and serving nonprofits advancing digital equity in their communities,” the company said. “Pride is many things. Pride is Universal.”
ComcastNBCUniversal, a communications and multi-media giant, is one of the signatories of the HRC’s 2020 Business Statement on Anti-LGBTQ State Legislation, which states “their clear opposition to harmful legislation aimed at restricting the access of LGBTQ people in society.”
Last year, Comcast donated at least $1,046,000 to anti-LGBTQ politicians.
Donations since 2022, included at least $472,500 to the campaigns and leadership PACs of 78 members of Congress that have received a zero rating from HRC. It also donated $115,000 to state legislators in Florida, Tennessee, and Texas who have all sponsored anti-LGBTQ legislation, according to the Popular Information report.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., got $5,000 from Comcast, and has called for an investigation into Bud Light’s partnership with Mulvaney and demanded that the brand “sever its relationship” with Mulvaney.
The company also donated $5,000 to Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has signed at least seven anti-LGBTQ bills this year, including a ban on public drag performances, and a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth, among others.
Other beneficiaries of Comcast donations include $300,000 to the RGA, the Republican Governors Association, which helps elect and support Republican governors.
The RGA chair is Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa, who recently signed a sweeping bill into law that will restrict education about gender identity and sexual orientation and ban books with certain sexual content from school libraries, as well as require schools to notify parents if their child asks to use a new name or pronoun.
The vice chair is Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee, who signed an anti-drag law which restricted “male and female impersonators” from performing in public spaces. The law was recently overturned by a federal judge.
Other members of RGA’s Executive Committee for 2021 included the governors of Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas, all who have supported oppressive anti-LGBTQ legislation.
AT&T, the multi-national communications giant which is “committed to standing behind the LBGTQ+ community” donated at least $1,396,650 to anti-LGBTQ legislators since last year. That contribution conflicts with the company’s claims that it “support[s] organizations and projects that strengthen the LGBTQ+ community.”
Despite the hefty campaign contributions, in 2021, AT&T signed an HRC letter stating that the company opposes “bills being introduced in statehouses across the country that single out LGBTQ individuals — many specifically targeting transgender youth — for exclusion or differential treatment.”
The AT&T donations have included at least $775,400 to the campaigns and leadership PACs of 111 members of Congress who received a zero rating from HRC. AT&T also donated $285,000 to the RGA, $110,000 to the RSLC (Republican State Leadership Committee and $226,250 to state legislators behind anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas, the report noted.
A total of $12,500 went to 11 Republican representatives in Florida who sponsored the state’s restrictive “Don’t Say Gay” law, including $1,000 to Rep. Adam Anderson, who introduced the bill, which bans classroom instruction on “sexual orientation on gender identity” through the eighth grade instead of the third grade.
AT&T also gave $1,500 to North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who has signed many anti-LGBTQ bills into law, including one that would “prohibit doctors from providing life-saving gender-affirming care for transgender North Dakotans.”
Telecommunications and mass media company Charter Communications has donated at least $1,167,000 to anti-LGBTQ legislators since last year. The company has more than 32 million customers in 41 states and is the second-largest cable operator in the United States, just behind Comcast.
Charter Communications gave its hypocritical support to the last year’s Pride Month by offering customers LGBTQ-themed films while noting their commitment is that “everyone feels valued and empowered to bring their best ideas forward.”
Since 2022, Charter Communications has donated at least $1,167,000 to anti-LGBTQ state and federal lawmakers. This includes at least $332,500 to the campaigns and leadership PACs of 63 members of Congress who received a zero rating from HRC. Charter Communications also donated $205,000 to the RGA, $315,000 to the RSLC, and $314,500 to state legislators behind anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a leading right wing voice of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, got a $203,000 contribution. In addition to restricting discussion of sexual issues in schools, DeSanti’s bills “criminalize transgender people for using the restroom that matches their gender identity” and “prohibits gender-inclusive restrooms and changing facilities in schools, public shelters, healthcare facilities, and jails.”
Home Depot, another company offering token lip service to the LGBTQ community, donated at least $784,200 to anti-LGBTQ legislators since 2022. The company announced last June that it was expanding its partnership with the HRC Foundation to “advance meaningful change.”
Since 2022, Home Depot has donated at least $702,500 to the campaigns and leadership PACs of 75 members of Congress who received a zero rating from HRC. Home Depot also donated $450,000 to the RGA, $50,000 to the RSLC, and $31,250 to state legislators behind anti-LGBTQ legislation in North Carolina and Texas.
Five Texas legislators collected a total of $8,500 from Home Depot. The lawmakers sponsored a bill to “ban gender affirming care for transgender youth.”
UnitedHealth has donated at least $1,139,050 to anti-LGBTQ politicians since 2022. The Minnesota-based multinational managed healthcare and insurance company is the world’s 11th largest company by revenue and the largest healthcare company by revenue, and the largest insurance company by net premiums.
The United Health Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, said it plans to invest $2 million in grants to support the work of Rainbow Health, a nonprofit dedicated to the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ communities and health equity.
The company said that “Pride Month is all about embracing your uniqueness and individuality” and has received a perfect Corporate Equality Index rating from the HRC for several years in a row.
Since 2022, UnitedHealth Group has donated at least $255,000 to 47 politicians who received a zero rating from HRC, $750,450 to the RGA, and $50,000 to the RSLC. UnitedHealth Group has also donated $83,600 to anti-LGBTQ legislators in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas, with more than half going to DeSantis, according to the report.
At least $669,800 was donated to anti-LBGTQ politicians since last year by Deloitte, a British multinational professional services network which is the world’s largest professional services network by revenue and number of professionals and is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms.
When it’s not donating to anti-LGBTQ lawmakers, Deloitte has said that Pride Month is a “call to action for those LGBTQ+ communities still denied equal treatment, inclusion, and respect.”
Since 2022, Deloitte has donated at least $405,000 to the campaigns and leadership PACs of 46 members of Congress that have received a zero rating from HRC. Deloitte has also donated $250,000 to the RGA and $14,800 to politicians in Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas behind recent anti-LGBTQ legislation. The Deloitte donations include $1,000 to Texas State Rep. Dustin Burrows, who sponsored a bill that focused on drag shows.
A 2021 report by Popular Information found that CVS supported sponsors of anti-trans legislation in Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee, through its corporate political action committee. CVS received a perfect HRC score and announced it was “proud to join more than 100 companies that have signed HRC’s Business Statement Opposing Anti-LGBTQ State Legislation.”
In Texas, CVS backed Republican state senators Dawn Buckingham and Bryan Hughes, co-sponsored a bill that would “ make it a crime for parents to allow children to receive gender-affirming medical care.
CVS also donated $1,000 to North Carolina state Sen. Ralph Hise, sponsor of a bill to ban anyone under 21 from receiving gender-affirming treatment. Hise also had championed an anti-trans “bathroom bill” that the lawmaker said was necessary “to protect the citizens of the state of North Carolina.”
CVS has donated $259,000 to 54 members of Congress who received an HRC rating of zero, largely through voting against the Equality Act, over the last two years.
Walmart is reported to have donated at least $442,000 to 121 politicians who received a zero from HRC.
Since 2019, Wells Fargo has donated $124,500 to anti-LGBTQ members of Congress that received a zero rating from the HRC. Wells Fargo is a corporate supporter of Heritage of Pride, the non-profit that plans and produces New York City’s Pride events. The group has also been supported by Comcast.
According to a 2022 report by Data for Progress, dozens of companies that sponsor Pride celebrations across six major cities in the U.S. or that have signed pledges to support the LGBTQ community have collectively donated more than $1.5 million to anti-LGBTQ politicians across six states. Fortune 500 companies have spent more than $2.8 million overall on anti-LGBTQ campaign donations, the report found.
The analysis highlighted Pride festivities sponsors in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco.
The biggest donor among the group of sponsors is Toyota, which has given $601,500 to anti-LGBTQ politicians since 2019. Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott alone has received $400,000 from Toyota within the last few years. Abbott is a leader of the nationwide conservative campaign to limit care for transgender children.
AT&T, another Pride sponsor, donated nearly $300,000 to a wide range of right-wing politicians, much supporting Abbott’s campaign.
The 2022 report found that companies donated $1,604,440 to anti-LGBTQ campaigns. They were led by Toyota, $601,500; AT&T, $307,137.52; Comcast, $121,350; Amazon, $87,900; FedEx, $79,700; State Farm, $79,550; General Motors, $48,500; Budweiser, $45,250; Enterprise, $41,300; Jack Daniel’s (Brown-Forman), $34,250; and ConocoPhillips, $27,502.64.
Reports by the HRC, Open Secrets and the ACLU noted that Altria Client Services, a subsidiary of tobacco producer Altria, was the second largest contributor of the HRC signatories, giving $360,000 to lawmakers involved in anti-LGBTQ legislation.
The majority of the contributions went to Georgia, where the company gave $214,000 to lawmakers who backed anti-LGBTQ legislation. Most of Altria’s Georgia contributions went to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who signed into law a bill banning hormone replacement therapy and sex reassignment surgeries for minors.