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Facebook Donation to Antigay Pol Gets a Big 'Dislike'

Facebook Donation to Antigay Pol Gets a Big 'Dislike'

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A Utah journalist-activist is calling on Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to retract support for the state's attorney general and make a donation to his opponent.

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A Utah journalist and activist is calling out Facebook for its campaign donation to the state's anti-marriage equality attorney general -- and calling on the social media company to atone with a donation to his opponent.

Facebook contributed $10,000 to Republican Sean Reyes's reelection campaign in May, according to disclosure forms filed with the Utah lieutenant governor's office, reports Salt Lake Q, an LGBT publication. Reyes has been handling the defense of the state's same-sex marriage ban, which was struck down by a U.S. district court in December. The decision was upheld by an appellate court in June, and the state has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter.

Bob Henline, assistant editor of Salt Lake Q, has created a Change.org petition demanding that Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg denounce Reyes's anti-equality stance and, given that it can't take back the donation, contribute an equal or greater amount to the campaign of Charles Stormont, the Democrat running against Reyes.

Henline recognizes a company's right to donate to any candidate or cause it chooses, he tells The Advocate, but adds, "Just because you can do something doesn't mean you're exempt from the consequences of doing so."

His petition notes that in donating to an antigay candidate, Facebook is going against its stated commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. Facebook officials, he says, told him that the company bases its contribution decisions on a wide range of issues and cited Reyes's work on Internet safety and patent reform. But these matters, Henline notes, are the purview of the federal government, so a state attorney general would not be in a position to have influence on them.

Stormont, he says, has said he would withdraw from the court fight over marriage equality and let the ruling stand. The Democrat also backs expanding the state's antidiscrimination law to include sexual orientation and gender identity, Henline says, while Reyes has advised the legislature not to even consider such a measure.

Henline says that after his petition gets 2,000 or 2,500 signatures, he will present it to Facebook.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.