April 1, 2015
Walmart CEO opposes Arkansas religious freedom bill
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has joined other business leaders in Arkansas and the state Chamber of Commerce in opposing HB 1228, a bill known as the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," over fears that it would give citizens, including businesses, the legal right to discriminate against others based on their sexual orientation or identification.
"Every day, in our stores, we see firsthand the benefits diversity and inclusion have on our associates, customers and communities we serve. It all starts with our core basic belief of respect for the individual," Mr. McMillon said in a statement. "Today’s passage of HB 1228 threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of Arkansas and does not reflect the values we proudly uphold. For these reasons, we are asking Governor Hutchinson to veto this legislation."
Attention has turned to the Arkansas bill after business leaders pushed back against a similar bill signed into law in Indiana. Apple CEO Tim Cook, the first openly gay leader of a major corporation, wrote a Washington Post op-ed piece that called religious freedom laws "dangerous."
According to Mr. Cook, there are presently 100 pieces of legislation pending in states intended to "enshrine discrimination in state law." He pointed to a proposed bill being considered in Texas that would strip clerks of their salaries and pensions for issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"These bills rationalize injustice by pretending to defend something many of us hold dear," Mr. Cook wrote. "They go against the very principles our nation was founded on, and they have the potential to undo decades of progress toward greater equality."
Proponents of religious freedom laws, including that signed into law in Indiana, say similar legislation first passed on the federal level during the nineties during Bill Clinton’s administrations and has since passed in 20 states including the traditionally liberal state of Connecticut.
Connecticut governor Daniel Malloy wrote an op-ed in Time taking issue with the characterization that Indiana’s new law had an equivalent in his state.
"Connecticut has for two decades had a law recognizing freedom of religion. We celebrate it," wrote Mr. Malloy. "But what separates us from Indiana is that we also have numerous statutes outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. We protect the rights of all our citizens."
- Walmart joins opponents of Ark. religion bill – KTHV/USA Today
- HB 1228: The future of business in Arkansas – KTHV/USA Today
- Hutchinson has controversial HB 1228, business officials ask him to veto – Talk Business & Politics/The City Wire
- Cook: Pro-discrimination ‘religious freedom’ laws are dangerous – The Washington Post (tiered sub.)
- Editorial: Gov. Pence, fix ‘religious freedom’ law now – The Indianapolis Star
- Mike Pence: ‘Was I expecting this kind of backlash? Heavens no.’ – CNN
- Connecticut Gov. Malloy: ‘Mike Pence Knew What He Was Doing’ – Time
- Connecticut law protects religious freedom while also prohibiting discrimination – New Haven Register
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Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Should retailers and their representative organizations lobby states to oppose or amend “religious freedom” laws that do not offer strong anti-discrimination provisions? Do you agree that businesses should enjoy the same rights in this area as individuals?
Poll
Without turning this into a political discussion about the stampede to pass “religious freedom” laws, it’s worth noting the pushback from the business community. Mainstream companies like Walmart and Eli Lilly see the laws in Indiana and Arkansas as a threat not only to anti-discrimination practices but also to the recruitment of a diverse workforce. And as companies start to “vote with their checkbooks” by taking convention business or expansion plans to other states, maybe some state legislators and governors will realize the misguided impact of their actions.
While the focus of the discussion has been on the LGBT community, especially in states where it is not treated as a “protected” class by anti-discrimination laws, I wonder about some of the other unintended consequences of the RFRA and similar laws. By the same theory, does a Quaker restaurateur have the right to refuse service to a uniformed military member because her conscience opposes waging war? Can a Kosher deli owner refuse service to a Christian customer who does not follow the same strict dietary rules?
I’m guessing that the legislators in question would answer “Of course not!” to the last two questions, which makes the targeting of the legislation more blatant. We’ll see whether the 800-pound Arkansas gorilla has any sway in its home state.
Each state should be very concerned over this type of legislation. While the law was meant to assist organizations such as Hobby Lobby and Notre Dame University deal with religious beliefs versus some of the provisions in the Affordable Healthcare Act, some states have gone too far. Indiana will revise its law according to a news conference yesterday and Arkansas will need to do the same. Retailers, as good citizens in each state, need to oppose bad legislation much in the same way the NRF represents them on a national level.
I think retailers should set a higher standard than most individual rights since we need to be seen as sensitive to all of our customers’ beliefs. We must also follow the law but ensure that laws are good laws for all Americans and all retailers. This law as currently written is not a good law and needs to be either vetoed or revised.
Smart guy.
If this was just about GLBT it would be one thing, but it’s bigger than that. Anyone can declare themselves a religion with any rules, and in the South that’s particularly scary.
And Walmart wants to be on the right side of this issue. The reason businesses are doing this is to avoid boycotts. Turns out all those minorities have real money to spend.
Retailers are in business to sell things and make money, not to discriminate against some customers. Walmart realizes this, and with their national presence decided to take a stand on the issue. There is no place in this country for discrimination. The Indiana, Arkansas and Texas laws are discriminatory. These laws should be changed or struck down by the courts.
The backlash has been swift and profound with one resulting theme: These laws pushed through to placate a significant minority have huge consequences for business.
With one in four jobs connected to retail, it is indeed right for businesses to come out and say we are more alike than different.
Anything less says “We’re different from you, stay away.”
Retailers should stay out of the political issues unless it directly affects their sales and profits. Business has no place in taking sides on religious freedom. Just like Starbucks’ recent efforts, which failed, all this time and effort on non-business issues prevents the company from doing their job. Business cannot win by picking sides. The groups that have raised this as a discrimination issues represent less than 5 percent of the population. Picking sides will only result in the loss of business. All this anti-discrimination screaming does not take into consideration free market economics. Once again the government is wasting time trying to solve non-existent issues which only cost taxpayers money.
So here are my thoughts. I hope we can discuss this respectfully and intelligently. In the year 2015 it’s just not OK anymore to treat gay people as though they are mutants, or freaks or criminals. I am a true believer that homosexuality is in a person’s genetics and in most cases was not a personal choice.
It would be exactly the same as passing laws saying that for the sake of “religious-freedom,” we can discriminate against black people, left-handed people, or people with red hair. Everyone is born a certain way. Once again, I do not believe it’s a “choice.”
In regards to Walmart taking a stand, I think they are doing the right thing, since everyone in the world knows they are based in Arkansas, and since we know that popular opinion today overwhelmingly favors gay rights and gay equality.
I will agree that businesses should have the same religious rights as people the next time I see Exxon, Apple, Walmart, Pfizer, et. al., in church praying. Of course it would be difficult since businesses don’t have hands to put together, or lips to pray with or hearts to believe.
Businesses are organized with charters from the states mostly to protect the owners from personal liability. It separates the person from the business. It also protects the business from the person if the the person is a bad actor in their personal life. The lines may never cross.
It gives me hope for this country when I see masses of people rise up to oppose fear-driven, thinly-veiled bigotry that was absurdly allowed to stand as “conventional wisdom” for centuries.
Good move for Walmart. With some the other areas that the news FEEDS on—like Indiana and LGBT—retailers and business have no rights. An area to consider before someone goes into the business.
All the special interest groups—besides having ACLU support—have LOADS of money to burn on any issue. Soon, if a retailer or anyone that is not using 100% recycled paper will be busted by some nature group and the press will feed off the story. Who knows what is next. Feeding the news—feeding social—is the only way most of America functions.
TRedd…Going non-electric someday….
I am willing to bet no state politician who voted for this bill expected the firestorm it created. It has become one of those “I wish I could take that back” issues. What did they think they were going to accomplish? Between Indiana and Arkansas they have become the butt of every late night comedian’s monologue. Not only that, they deserve it. Who, outside of Indiana, even knew who the governor is? Now he is the flag bearer for discriminatory laws. Wait until tomorrow and the Governor of Arkansas will be next to him. And to think President Clinton came from Arkansas. You can be sure he is glad he does not have this battle to fight. This, my friends, is sad that we have reached such a low point.
Warren’s comment in the column today is simple and eloquent. Diversity and inclusion, talent and skill, hard work and pride—and passion for our beliefs—is the very fabric for success America. This form of subversive bigotry is as dangerous as home grown terrorism.
A strong dose of common sense among our leaders—political and business—is all we can hope for. Thank you Tim Cook for upholding our values and freedoms—glad to see others step up.
If a company doesn’t want to serve everybody, they shouldn’t be given a business license.
This is an issue of business. If the Arkansas law affects his business, he is welcome to say that and to oppose it.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson says he won’t sign that ridiculous bill, and Walmart’s high-profile dissing of it probably had an impact.
Let’s hope the vivid backlash here intimidates other state lawmakers to keep their bias to themselves.
“Heavens no”? Does Gov. Pence actually want us to believe that signing this bill could possibly have been a non-event? With the Final Four basketball coming up this weekend in Indianapolis, I think we’ll see the street protests come to a peak.
Slapping a pseudo-constitutional headline on a law does not make it just.
Unfortunately, public statements like Mr. McMillon’s are probably motivated more by business priorities than conscience. In this instance (and considering the pocket veto reported minutes ago in Arkansas) I’m willing to chalk this one up to “doing well by doing good.”
How does “Freedom of Religion” get translated into “Religious Freedom”? And since when does “Religious Freedom” mean “Freedom to Do Anything I Want Even If It’s Unconstitutional”? It’s appalling, the whole idea behind it.
Anyway, enough rant, I’m with Doug—this whole thing is creating some odd bedfellows, isn’t it?
It is Doug McMillon’s guaranteed freedom to express his opinion on any given subject. As for taking a position on any polarizing subject or movement this is madness and the board needs to consider the ramifications on a global scale. The best opinion for the company is no opinion at all. If history has shown us anything, we now know that no company is to big to fail even if the opinion or action upholds the freedom of everyone.
No. Businesses are not individuals, and specifically allowing laws for businesses to discriminate in any way does not benefit the retailer, their customer or their community.
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Without turning this into a political discussion about the stampede to pass “religious freedom” laws, it’s worth noting the pushback from the business community. Mainstream companies like Walmart and Eli Lilly see the laws in Indiana and Arkansas as a threat not only to anti-discrimination practices but also to the recruitment of a diverse workforce. And as companies start to “vote with their checkbooks” by taking convention business or expansion plans to other states, maybe some state legislators and governors will realize the misguided impact of their actions.
While the focus of the discussion has been on the LGBT community, especially in states where it is not treated as a “protected” class by anti-discrimination laws, I wonder about some of the other unintended consequences of the RFRA and similar laws. By the same theory, does a Quaker restaurateur have the right to refuse service to a uniformed military member because her conscience opposes waging war? Can a Kosher deli owner refuse service to a Christian customer who does not follow the same strict dietary rules?
I’m guessing that the legislators in question would answer “Of course not!” to the last two questions, which makes the targeting of the legislation more blatant. We’ll see whether the 800-pound Arkansas gorilla has any sway in its home state.
Each state should be very concerned over this type of legislation. While the law was meant to assist organizations such as Hobby Lobby and Notre Dame University deal with religious beliefs versus some of the provisions in the Affordable Healthcare Act, some states have gone too far. Indiana will revise its law according to a news conference yesterday and Arkansas will need to do the same. Retailers, as good citizens in each state, need to oppose bad legislation much in the same way the NRF represents them on a national level.
I think retailers should set a higher standard than most individual rights since we need to be seen as sensitive to all of our customers’ beliefs. We must also follow the law but ensure that laws are good laws for all Americans and all retailers. This law as currently written is not a good law and needs to be either vetoed or revised.
Smart guy.
If this was just about GLBT it would be one thing, but it’s bigger than that. Anyone can declare themselves a religion with any rules, and in the South that’s particularly scary.
And Walmart wants to be on the right side of this issue. The reason businesses are doing this is to avoid boycotts. Turns out all those minorities have real money to spend.
Retailers are in business to sell things and make money, not to discriminate against some customers. Walmart realizes this, and with their national presence decided to take a stand on the issue. There is no place in this country for discrimination. The Indiana, Arkansas and Texas laws are discriminatory. These laws should be changed or struck down by the courts.
The backlash has been swift and profound with one resulting theme: These laws pushed through to placate a significant minority have huge consequences for business.
With one in four jobs connected to retail, it is indeed right for businesses to come out and say we are more alike than different.
Anything less says “We’re different from you, stay away.”
Retailers should stay out of the political issues unless it directly affects their sales and profits. Business has no place in taking sides on religious freedom. Just like Starbucks’ recent efforts, which failed, all this time and effort on non-business issues prevents the company from doing their job. Business cannot win by picking sides. The groups that have raised this as a discrimination issues represent less than 5 percent of the population. Picking sides will only result in the loss of business. All this anti-discrimination screaming does not take into consideration free market economics. Once again the government is wasting time trying to solve non-existent issues which only cost taxpayers money.
So here are my thoughts. I hope we can discuss this respectfully and intelligently. In the year 2015 it’s just not OK anymore to treat gay people as though they are mutants, or freaks or criminals. I am a true believer that homosexuality is in a person’s genetics and in most cases was not a personal choice.
It would be exactly the same as passing laws saying that for the sake of “religious-freedom,” we can discriminate against black people, left-handed people, or people with red hair. Everyone is born a certain way. Once again, I do not believe it’s a “choice.”
In regards to Walmart taking a stand, I think they are doing the right thing, since everyone in the world knows they are based in Arkansas, and since we know that popular opinion today overwhelmingly favors gay rights and gay equality.
I will agree that businesses should have the same religious rights as people the next time I see Exxon, Apple, Walmart, Pfizer, et. al., in church praying. Of course it would be difficult since businesses don’t have hands to put together, or lips to pray with or hearts to believe.
Businesses are organized with charters from the states mostly to protect the owners from personal liability. It separates the person from the business. It also protects the business from the person if the the person is a bad actor in their personal life. The lines may never cross.
It gives me hope for this country when I see masses of people rise up to oppose fear-driven, thinly-veiled bigotry that was absurdly allowed to stand as “conventional wisdom” for centuries.
Good move for Walmart. With some the other areas that the news FEEDS on—like Indiana and LGBT—retailers and business have no rights. An area to consider before someone goes into the business.
All the special interest groups—besides having ACLU support—have LOADS of money to burn on any issue. Soon, if a retailer or anyone that is not using 100% recycled paper will be busted by some nature group and the press will feed off the story. Who knows what is next. Feeding the news—feeding social—is the only way most of America functions.
TRedd…Going non-electric someday….
I am willing to bet no state politician who voted for this bill expected the firestorm it created. It has become one of those “I wish I could take that back” issues. What did they think they were going to accomplish? Between Indiana and Arkansas they have become the butt of every late night comedian’s monologue. Not only that, they deserve it. Who, outside of Indiana, even knew who the governor is? Now he is the flag bearer for discriminatory laws. Wait until tomorrow and the Governor of Arkansas will be next to him. And to think President Clinton came from Arkansas. You can be sure he is glad he does not have this battle to fight. This, my friends, is sad that we have reached such a low point.
Warren’s comment in the column today is simple and eloquent. Diversity and inclusion, talent and skill, hard work and pride—and passion for our beliefs—is the very fabric for success America. This form of subversive bigotry is as dangerous as home grown terrorism.
A strong dose of common sense among our leaders—political and business—is all we can hope for. Thank you Tim Cook for upholding our values and freedoms—glad to see others step up.
If a company doesn’t want to serve everybody, they shouldn’t be given a business license.
This is an issue of business. If the Arkansas law affects his business, he is welcome to say that and to oppose it.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson says he won’t sign that ridiculous bill, and Walmart’s high-profile dissing of it probably had an impact.
Let’s hope the vivid backlash here intimidates other state lawmakers to keep their bias to themselves.
“Heavens no”? Does Gov. Pence actually want us to believe that signing this bill could possibly have been a non-event? With the Final Four basketball coming up this weekend in Indianapolis, I think we’ll see the street protests come to a peak.
Slapping a pseudo-constitutional headline on a law does not make it just.
Unfortunately, public statements like Mr. McMillon’s are probably motivated more by business priorities than conscience. In this instance (and considering the pocket veto reported minutes ago in Arkansas) I’m willing to chalk this one up to “doing well by doing good.”
How does “Freedom of Religion” get translated into “Religious Freedom”? And since when does “Religious Freedom” mean “Freedom to Do Anything I Want Even If It’s Unconstitutional”? It’s appalling, the whole idea behind it.
Anyway, enough rant, I’m with Doug—this whole thing is creating some odd bedfellows, isn’t it?
It is Doug McMillon’s guaranteed freedom to express his opinion on any given subject. As for taking a position on any polarizing subject or movement this is madness and the board needs to consider the ramifications on a global scale. The best opinion for the company is no opinion at all. If history has shown us anything, we now know that no company is to big to fail even if the opinion or action upholds the freedom of everyone.
No. Businesses are not individuals, and specifically allowing laws for businesses to discriminate in any way does not benefit the retailer, their customer or their community.