CommentsLGBTQNation-The iconic Stonewall Inn is banning beers manufactured by Anheuser-Busch after it was revealed the company has donated over $35,000 to anti-LGBTQ state-level politicians.
Anheuser-Busch makes Budweiser and Bud Light, Stella Artois, Michelob, and Shock Top beers, among several others. The company was one of several who claims to “celebrate Pride” while secretly funding the anti-LGBTQ movement that has been targeted by the #KeepYourPride campaign.
One of the major repeating themes for the first Pride season following the end of coronavirus lockdowns has been the dichotomy between what money-grubbing companies are saying – complete with special logos and merchandise – and how they’re using the proceeds from all that rainbow-colored merchandise.
Many of the companies get perfect scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index. Activists have decried the report for years as an inaccurate showing of where companies actually stand when it comes to the LGBTQ community. Several of the companies make large donations to the organization and get perfect scores despite obvious deficiencies.
Walmart, for example, got a perfect score despite fighting off lawsuits from LGBTQ employees alleging discrimination. The company retains its perfect score despite giving over $400,000 to politicians that the group has rated as anti-LGBTQ; $43,000 went directly to anti-LGBTQ state legislators who used the money to repeatedly attack the transgender community in the last political cycle.
“We support candidates for public office whose policy positions and objectives support investments in our communities, job creation, and industry growth,” Anheuser-Busch said in response. “Together, with our brands, we have a clear role to play in bringing real change and creating an inclusive and equitable world where we cherish and celebrate one another.”
The politicians that Anheuser-Busch is handing fistfuls of cash, however, aren’t interested in “an inclusive and equitable world.”
“We just felt Stonewall having the platform, the power to do this, it was important to stand up,” co-owner Stacy Lentz said. “We really just want Anheuser-Busch to stop donating to lawmakers who are trying to legalize discrimination.”
(Bil Browning is the Editor-in-Chief of LGBTQ Nation. His personal papers and LGBT activism memorabilia are included in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History archives.)
