EA, Microsoft, and Zynga Oppose Defense of Marriage Act

Marshall Honorof

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EA, Microsoft, and Zynga Oppose Defense of Marriage Act


No other game companies signed a brief calling for DOMA's repeal.

Folks on gaming forums see Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and Zynga as punching bags just as often as purveyors of entertainment, but you've got to give credit where credit is due. 278 companies recently signed an Defense of Marriage Act [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amicus_curiae]. Singling out EA, Microsoft, and Zynga may not make much sense initially, but as it turns out, these were the only three gaming companies that signed the brief. If the brief achieves its desired effect, crossing state lines will become much easier for married same-sex couples in the United States.

The amicus cites both moral and practical reasons for opposing the Act. "[The Defense of Marriage Act] puts us, as employers, to unnecessary cost and administrative complexity," the brief reads, "and regardless of our business or professional judgment forces us to treat one class of our lawfully married employees differently than another, when our success depends upon the welfare and morale of all employees." Apart from the three aforementioned companies, heavy hitters like Morgan Stanley, Facebook, Twitter, Starbucks, and Walt Disney threw their weight against DOMA.

Signed into law by former president Bill Clinton, the Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage at a federal level as a union of one man and one woman. While this in no way compromises the rights of individual states to marry same-sex couples, it can make traveling across state lines extremely difficult. A same-sex couple that gets married in one state and moves to another state that does not recognize such a marriage could lose all of the legal benefits of marriage, including tax breaks, Social Security benefits, and power of attorney.

While the amicus cites chiefly business concerns, EA, Microsoft, and Zynga have still made a firm gesture in support of equal rights for same-sex couples, and by extension, the larger LGBT community [http://www.ea.com/news/ea-named-to-best-places-to-work-for-lgbt-equality-by-the-human-rights-campaign]. If this doesn't work out, hopefully more gaming companies will join in on the next amicus curiae.

Source: GameSpot [http://www.scribd.com/doc/127567244/12-307-Bsac-278-Employers-and-Organizations-Representing-Employers-Copy]

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l3o2828

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rvdm88 said:
Strange that VALVe isn't part of this...
Valve doesn't need to promote themselves doing something right for society as much, seeing as they aren't a godawful evil gaming company that every oportunity to seem less horrible is BONANZA~*

But yeah, i am a bit dissapointed VALVE isn't here...
 

chetoos

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When I read the title, I thought this was going a whole other way, but good on EA, Microsoft, and Zynga, of all people.
 

Zombie_Moogle

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There are only 3 game companies that signed because those 3 need all the good press they can get. Plenty of other publishers & developers probably agree, but a PR boost wasn't a top priority for them as a company like it is with Microsoft, Zynga, & EA. Credit to them for the support, regardless of the reason

It is an unfortunately small number from the game biz though. One could argue that other companies didn't want to attract the ire of those in the game community that might disagree with marriage rights (which seems like a large number if one spends 30 seconds or more on Xbox Live). I hope that is not the case
 

tmande2nd

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NO matter how they wave their allegiance to the LGBT cause and Gay Rights it will never change the fact that they are some of the most harmful game developers in the industry.

Nice try guys but it does not change anyone's view of you.
 

Zeckt

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EA has proved themselves in supporting the LGBT community so that's a given, microsoft leaves me skeptical as they have done nothing to PROVE they care in their games, and it's hard to believe zynga however what with them being gutted through and through.

Off the record, I'm surprised at just how many LGBT people are on the escapist :)
 

Quiet Stranger

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I think one of the FB people said it best "If you drag a person's past sins into everything they do, you will see nothing but monsters" or something like that.

For whatever reason they did it, it's still a good thing! Good on these people!

EDIT: Fixed error
 

Zeckt

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Quiet Stranger said:
I think one of the FB people said it best "If you drag a person's past sins into everything you do, you will see nothing but monsters" or something like that.

For whatever reason they did it, it's still a good thing! Good on these people!
Wow, that's pretty powerful stuff. I got to remember that one!
 

Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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Big deal, they've signed what amounts to the legal equivalent of an online petition. Corporate slacktivism that they're desperate to doll up. Google, Apple, Goldman Sachs and Disney also signed it - why are we not singing their praises?

The hell of it is that repealing it would probably be good for them. It's one less employment law they need to enforce.
 

Moosejaw

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So a company you dislike does a good thing. Your response? Berate them for it, because that's exactly how you encourage them to do more good things.
 

1337mokro

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Moosejaw said:
So a company you dislike does a good thing. Your response? Berate them for it, because that's exactly how you encourage them to do more good things.
No. No. Of course not.

We berate them because most of the bill is about how hard it is for them to deal with administration. Employee relocation, recruiting, etc. etc. etc.

That's why we are riffing on them.

It's not because they are usually evil and now are against this homophobic law so we still treat them as evil because RAGE! It's just that even when doing something good. it still has to be about them, somehow.
 

Smooth Operator

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What the fuck do companies have to do with this... does your whole legal system really only run on money or something.
 

Gethsemani_v1legacy

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1337mokro said:
No. No. Of course not.

We berate them because most of the bill is about how hard it is for them to deal with administration. Employee relocation, recruiting, etc. etc. etc.

That's why we are riffing on them.

It's not because they are usually evil and now are against this homophobic law so we still treat them as evil because RAGE! It's just that even when doing something good. it still has to be about them, somehow.
Of course it has, the entire point of this kind of bill is for companies to make a stand. While they could just have written that "we like the GLBT-community, so let us be nice to them" they get far more impact if they also present a valid case as to why DOMA is not only bigotry but also economically and socially damaging. It is essentially an appeal to reason aimed at the politicians that support DOMA, seeing as how appeals to emotion (such as "homosexuals are people too!") won't matter to the conservative powers that keep DOMA in place.

Whatever their reasons it is nice to see them support the GLBT-community this openly. It shows, indirectly, that they consider GLBT-oriented people as just an important part of their workforce as hetero people are. Honestly, it is a good thing of them to do and no matter what we think of their other business practices (just like with Facebook or Starbucks to take two other examples from that list) we should at least recognize this for the good thing that it is.