Trying to stay posted on US news, but it's difficult when the news is this depressing...

Anti-oppression legislation WA. State HB 1515 was shot down this week, with special interest connections linking the single critical vote the Conservative Christian Right and - get this, Microsoft!
HB 1515 was anti-discrimination legislation that would finally include sexual orientation into the current WA anti-discrimination. The current legislation protects citizens on the basis of race, gender, age, physical ability, etc. and in my opinion it's about damn time we included everyone!
I lobbied on this bill with ACLU and HRC, so I'm really pissed off. This legislation has been proposed for the past fifteen years and has never been closer to success.
Who would have thought that using your email could support discriminatory legislation? Think about this next time you check your email, word, or any other of a zillion Microsoft products.
Write a letter to Microsoft, and your legislator no matter what state you live in. Have your friends, and local business write letters! Don't be silent, Microsoft is acting as a greedy business, so let them know they have pissed off their paying customers!
Forward this to everyone you know who champions human rights, and take action!

I edited the following article for length, but the content is still in good shape. For the full article go the the Seattle Times website.
The facts are below:

Gay group wants award back from Microsoft
By Kim Peterson
Microsoft's public-relations troubles intensified yesterday as news spread that the company had withdrawn support for state legislation banning discrimination against gays and lesbians.
The legislation, House Bill 1515, was voted down Thursday by a single vote in the state Senate, prompting frustration and anger that continued to build yesterday among some gay-rights activists.
The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center asked Microsoft yesterday to return an award it gave the company in 2001, saying the company is no longer worthy of its highest corporate honor. The center had given Microsoft its "corporate vision award," which it bestows on one company every year.
Also yesterday, national lobbying group Human Rights Campaign sent a letter to Microsoft expressing disappointment with the company.
It is the first time the center has asked that an award be returned, said Darrel Cummings, the center's chief of staff.
"People in our community are surprised and really shocked by the actions of Microsoft," he said. "There is no apparent reason why this corporation would have taken this action if it were not for the pressure put on them by what we consider to be very right-wing religious leaders that do not reflect the views of the people of Washington or this country."
Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Redmond's 3,500-member Antioch Bible Church, said Thursday that he met with Microsoft officials earlier this year and threatened a national boycott of the company if it did not withdraw its support of the bill.
Microsoft has said that it decided to withdraw its support before the meeting with Hutcherson, and that its decision was not influenced by external factors. The company said it decided to narrow its lobbying focus to issues such as transportation, computer privacy and business competitiveness.
John Aravosis, who has been covering the issue on his Web log after the news of Microsoft withdrawing support was broken by local alternative newsweekly The Stranger, said some people still remember a boycott organized by gays and lesbians against Coors beer in the late 1970s. The boycott reportedly stemmed from Coors' moves to screen out prospective employees who were gay.
Although the company has changed its policies and worked hard to mend fences, memories of the boycott remain.
"For 30 years they've had to fight that spot on their name," Aravosis said. "You don't get away from that stuff. That's the danger [Microsoft] has in the long term."