brian's blog

From the Seattle Times, Microsoft may rethink position on gay-rights bill:

Gates said Microsoft was surprised by the sharp reaction after it became known that the company took a neutral position on the perennial measure this year, after actively supporting it in previous years. "Next time this one comes around, we'll see," he said. "We certainly have a lot of employees who sent us mail. Next time it comes around that'll be a major factor for us to take into consideration."

There have definitely been a lot of hallway discussions on this issue, as Steve Ballmer's company-wide email suggests. Personally (and this is, of course, my own opinion), I think issues of basic civil rights should be championed regardless of whether or not shareholders and employees may be offended, or whether it strictly relates to the bottom line.

One way or another, it's great to see so much open discussion and communication from upper management on down regarding this (and many other) issues.