Barney Frank explains why big business is backing gay rights

published 27 May 2015

One of the biggest and most consequential shifts in the push for gay rights was when corporate America joined the fray, recently siding with LGTB advocates against "religious freedom" laws Indiana and Arkansas. In an interview with Evan Smith, former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) called the business community "a critical block" in the gay-rights fight.

"It's very good to win an issue because you have morality on your side, but it helps in America if the profit motive weighs in," Frank said on the PBS show Overheard. "And essentially what you now have is the business community saying to the bigots, 'Will you please knock it off, you are interfering with our ability to ruin the economy and make money.'" Big Business is doing the right thing, he added, but not exactly for altruistic reasons:

It's interesting what they're saying, and they're saying this: Do not give us the right to discriminate — you are giving me something I didn't ask for. Because if a business has the legal and moral obligation to serve everybody, no controversy. But if you say to them, OK, you can pick and choose, then once they start picking and choosing, somebody's going to be mad at them. Either they'll be too kind to gay people or not kind enough. [Barney Frank]

You can watch Frank's comments at the Overheard site (they broach the topic at about the 12-minute mark), but the entire 25-minute interview is worth a listen. Among other things, Frank talks about how the left's penchant for marching is counterproductive, why the GOP may secretly want the Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage, Hillary Clinton's record on gay rights, and why he thinks Clinton should win the Democratic nomination without too much of a fight.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.