May 1, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) — With over $55 million in annual revenue, the Human Rights Campaign may be America's most powerful LGBT activist group. And according to a conservative corporate watchdog, that's in part because social conservatives are funding it.
“Conservatives would be surprised to know that many of the dollars they spend every day are helping fund an agenda that seeks to destroy traditional marriage and undermine religious freedoms,” said 2nd Vote National Outreach Director Robert Kuykendall. “Even when they purchase a beverage from a company like Coca-cola or Starbucks, their dollar is going to support HRC's liberal agenda to redefine marriage.”
Less than 18 months old, 2nd Vote has graded hundreds of corporations on six issues — corporate welfare, the environment, education, support for the Second Amendment, abortion, and as of two weeks ago, same-sex “marriage.” Using their “scoring” system, 2nd Vote ranks corporations on their direct or indirect involvement with these hot-button public policy and cultural issues.
And according to them, some of America's favorite corporations are making the radical HRC agenda possible.
“HRC is the largest LGBT lobbying organization in the United States with reported revenues of over $55 million,” Kuykendall told LifeSiteNews. “The redefinition of marriage and the undermining of religious freedom are major components of HRC’s policy agenda. To fund their policy goals, HRC has enlisted the help of many major corporations that we do business with every day to help fund. Over a third of the contributions received by HRC are listed as 'Corporate/Foundation Grants.'”
Why should conservatives care about corporate donors to HRC? Kuykendall says the organization is both politically influential and publicly deceptive. “Last election cycle, HRC spent around a million dollars on electioneering activities and in support of liberal candidates willing to push their legislative agenda. HRC is responsible for spreading much of the misinformation regarding [Religious Freedom Restoration Act] laws and has also mischaracterized the protections provided by these laws.”
“HRC organized a massive grassroots campaign in support of the legal battle to overturn state laws protecting marriage and influence the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges,” said Kuykendall.
Marriage isn't the only issue on which conservatives may be at odds with HRC's corporate backers. “2nd Vote’s research into other issues such as life, the environment, and the 2nd Amendment shows that many of the companies supporting HRC have taken liberal stands on other issues as well,” he said. “For example, Apple, Citigroup, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola are Platinum Partners, the highest level of HRC’s National Corporate Partners, that have also funded the liberal Center for American Progress [CAP].”
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“Bank of America, Google, Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, PepsiCo, and Morgan Stanley are also HRC Corporate Partners that have funded CAP. Furthermore, all of these companies signed the amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn state marriage laws.”
In Indiana, the state's religious liberty law was modified because of corporate pressure led by Tim Cook, Apple's gay CEO. Kuykendall says conservatives should not give up, though he acknowledges that “for too long, conservatives have let liberals and groups like HRC bully companies into not just going along with their agenda, but actively funding and promoting it.”
“However, conservatives have also proven their ability to mobilize and use their dollars in support of traditional values as we’ve seen through the fundraising campaigns for the pizza parlor and wedding cake makers who have been attacked by liberals for their beliefs. Conservatives need to turn the tables on the left, and groups like HRC, and motivate companies to stop funding the liberal agenda through the power of their shopping habits.”
Only nine companies have ranks of “five” or “four” on 2nd Vote's ranking system, indicating a pro-marriage perspective. They are outnumbered more than 10 to 1 by organizations that support redefining marriage.
Concerned citizens can download the app on 2nd Vote's website. The full list of corporation scores can be found here.
