Rankings for Target, 3M and Best Buy
dropped from last year on a gay equality index after the companies aided
anti-gay Tom Emmer.
The Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) 2011
Corporate Equality Index includes 337 companies, up from 305 last
year, with a perfect score. HRC ranks each company on several gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender workplace policies and assigns a
rating from 0- to 100- percent.
The perfect scores of three
Minnesota-based companies, however, dropped significantly in this
year's index because of their support of Republican Tom Emmer's bid
to become the next governor of Minnesota.
All three corporations donated a
significant amount of money to MN Forward, an independent political
fund supporting Emmer, who has been linked to the Christian rock band
You Can Run But You Can't Hide International, whose
members strongly oppose gay rights. He also opposes the right
of gay men and lesbians to marry. Minnesota lawmakers are
considering whether to legalize gay marriage, and opponents of the
institution have backed Emmer.
Each company was penalized 15 points
for “failing to take any corrective action in response to
significant community concerns.”
HRC
has already said it would drop Target and electronics retailer Best
Buy from its annual Buying for Equality Guide.
Only one company on the index scored a
zero percent.
“ExxonMobil continues to score a zero
percent and lose points for resisting shareholder pressure to amend
its non-discrimination policy [to include sexual orientation and
gender identity],” the report's authors wrote.