Business View Magazine - July 2016 7
Editor’s
Note
A few weeks ago, my city of Orlando, Florida became the latest scene of yet another mass shooting of innocent civilians by a deranged
individual, this time one toting a Sig Sauer MCX, a semi-automatic rifle that is essentially a consumer version of a military weapon de-
signed to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time available.
While the grieving for the 49 individuals who were mowed down at the Pulse Nightclub continues, investigators are still trying to piece
together the motives of the killer, Omar Mateen. Was he a radicalized American who announced his fealty to the Islamic State before
perpetrating the deadliest mass shooting ever on American soil, or was he a closeted gay man who was so filled with hate and self-
loathing that he chose to take out his anger and confusion on the LGBT community, some of whose members were merely enjoying
themselves and one another’s company at Pulse’s Latin Night event?
We may never know. What we do know, though, is that the tragedy brought forth a great outpouring of support from around the world
- not only for our local LGBT community, but for a city that has embraced its diversity and upheld its determination not to be defined
by the hatred of the few, but rather by the love of the many. Orlando has shown just how far our society has come in recognizing the
humanity of our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender brothers and sisters, and I’ve never been so proud of our local leadership and
my fellow citizens.
The Orlando shooting has also brought to the forefront many issues concerning LGBT discrimination laws in certain parts of the country
and how a newly acquired resolve to fight these laws has come, in large part, from America’s business community.
For example, North Carolina is facing an unprecedented business backlash after passing HB2, the notorious “bathroom bill.” Hundreds
of business executives have already called for a repeal of the law, and businesses like PayPal and Deutsche Bank have pulled or frozen
hundreds of jobs from the state in protest. In Indiana, opposition from the business community forced the government to back down
from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act it passed last year. In Georgia, Governor Deal listened to the voice of business and vetoed
a similar bill that came before him. And in Texas, BHP Billiton, one of the world’s largest natural resources companies, became the
1,000th Texas economic stakeholder to sign a pledge stating that Texas must be welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
people as an economic imperative.
Indeed, protecting the LGBT community and advocating for its rights is not only the right ethical and moral thing to do, it’s the right eco-
nomic thing to do, as well - and smart businesses know it. In 2016, global LGBT buying power is estimated to be worth $3.7 trillion. In
addition, the Center for Talent Innovation’s 2016 report, Out in the World: Securing LGBT Rights in the Global Marketplace, found that
71 percent of LGBT individuals and 82 percent of their allies said that they are more likely to purchase a good or service from a com-
pany that supports LGBT equality. Brand loyalty, coupled with the fact that LGBT-inclusive companies successfully recruit and maintain
top talent, explains why supporting the LGBT community has become so good for business.
The tragedy, of course, is that once again, innocent lives had to be sacrificed in order to move our society one step further on the road
to love and acceptance. But as Martin Luther King so eloquently reminded us: “The moral arc of history is long. . .but it bends toward
justice.” American businesses have the power to apply a little more pressure to that arc and to help shorten history’s long and, all-too-
often, deadly march. And when they do, we are all the better for it.
Al Krulick
Editor-in-Chief
Business View Magazine
