My employer is SO FUCKING COOL: "No on Prop 8"

[jbailey]

Hey - I usually have a personal policy of not talking about my current employer on my blog. It's why I didn't join Planet Ubuntu until after I'd left Canonical, for instance. This blog isn't theirs. I can promise you that no PR department I've ever worked for has approved the gratuitous overuse of the word "fuck".

But FUCK, this is cool: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/our-position-on-californias-no-on-8.html

My readers might remember that Angie and I spent a bunch of time writing letters to my Member of Parliament back in Canada in support of gay marriage, donated to egale, attended a church that got intervener status in support of gay marriage, and ultimately attended the senate debates where equal marriage became the law of the land.

And then, a year ago, we moved to this place. A place where this is still considered an issue. A place where people are willing to do what would never be considered back at home: They're willing to take away the rights that people have and are exercising to marry their partner of choice. And I don't have a voice. As a non-citizen, I can't sign a petition, I can't donate money to political campaigns, and I have no representative to contact and inform how important this is to me.

I was pleased to learn this afternoon that Google has decided to publicly make a stand for the rights of people in California. It's just one more thing that makes this the coolest job I've ever had.

Comments

[loic.livejournal.com]

It's pretty awesome that they've come out and done that.

As another non-citizen California resident I've been frustrated. I got married last summer and as far as I'm concerned prop-8 threatens to devalue my marriage. So I've signed up to volunteer to help out the no on 8 campaign.

Tangentially, I was talking to a friend who works for Microsoft (our company got bought after I'd left). She says that MS not only match cash donations, but they match employees' donations of time. If Google have a similar policy they might donate cash to match your donation of time. They might not though - for all their many flaws MS does have pretty much the best benefits in the world.

[jbailey.livejournal.com]

I know we have all sorts of matching things. But, are we allowed to donate cash? There were a couple things I went to go look at (although they were mostly around the presidential election) and I was told that there was a citizenship requirement. So I figured that just telling people as loudly as I could that this is important was about what I could do.

[mmmmtino.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure you can donate to No on 8 campaigns, though you can't donate to candidates or parties.

m

[jbailey.livejournal.com]

Ah, that's worth knowing, thanks. I'd gotten 'no' enough times, that I stopped asking.

[mmmmtino.livejournal.com]

I might be wrong, but when I donated to the National Center for Lesbian Rights No on 8 campaign, they didn't ask about my citizenship (which they do when I donate to Obama for President).

m

[ccmmcc.livejournal.com]

If you have a green card, you can donate to candidates or parties.

The Obama website has a nice summary of the rules on any donation page. (I'm sure the McCain website does, too, but I haven't seen it.)

[jbailey.livejournal.com]

I don't, though. Just here on a J1, and returning home at the end of the month.

Useful to know for harassing my friends who *do* have Green Cards, though.. =)

[loic.livejournal.com]

I think the No on 8 stuff specifically says you have to be a US permanent resident or citizen. My green card interview is on Friday though, so perhaps I'll be able to :)

[jbailey.livejournal.com]

\o/

Well, yay to the contributions. I decided I'd rather go home than stay, so I have a bias on that front. ;)

[loic.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought till I got married :)