Gays At Work

Today, when AT&T says, "Reach out and touch someone," you might wonder what kind of touching they have in mind. According to a recent article in Fortune magazine, AT&T is one of several American corporations that support homosexual rights in the workplace. Only they don't call it gay rights; they call it "workplace diversity." It typically begins with support groups for gay employees. Apple Computers and Digital Equipment were among the first whose gay employees came out of the closet to form support groups. Today some companies, like Xerox, maintain computer bulletin boards for gays and are listed by gay student groups as a good place to find work. If they really want to show their support, corporations offer so-called diversity training, aimed at making heterosexuals more open to gay co-workers. AT&T, for example, gives workshops on homophobia--a term applied to any form of opposition to homosexuality. At US West, all top managers have attended diversity programs. Some companies even make these programs mandatory. At Pacific Gas & electric, all employees are required to attend sensitivity workshops on diversity. And at Levi Strauss, managers are evaluated partly on the basis of their support for work-place diversity. Which means if you're a Christian and believe homosexuality is morally wrong, you're not going to make it in these companies. But it isn't just Christians who are affected. Everyone is, at least indirectly--because these programs don't come free. At Levi Strauss, the bill for diversity education is in the millions of dollars. That's a cost passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Gay groups are also lobbying for employee benefits for their partners and, if they succeed, that's another cost that will be passed on to the public. Since the rate of AIDS is so high among homosexuals, everyone will be forced to pay higher insurance premiums. Lotus Development recently became the largest corporation to offer homosexual partners the same benefits as husbands and wives. Homosexuals in the top echelons of a company can even affect the way it donates money. In recent years, companies such as AT&T and American Express have donated thousands of dollars to the Gay Men's Health Crisis, which raises funds for AIDS research and for workshops on safe sex--like one entitled "Eroticizing Safer Sex" and another called "Men Meeting Men." Fortune magazine defends the gay-rights movement within corporations. It claims that when gay people are openly welcome in the workplace, then they are more productive. But this grossly misinterprets the roots of productivity. Productivity stems from a high moral character--self-control, self-discipline, delayed gratification. Doctrinaire homosexuals exalt all the opposite traits. They want to be free to indulge any and every glandular impulse. And judging by their steep promiscuity rates, they have little concern for self-control or self-discipline. The workplace that promotes homosexuality is promoting the very character traits that will destroy American business. Real productivity is not a result of homophobia workshops and diversity training. It's a result of a sound moral character, inspired by a Christian work ethic.

06/8/92