Gates' give $500,000 in support of gay marriage
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Bill and Melinda Gates have donated $500,000 to the campaign to uphold the state's gay marriage law.
The donation was announced Tuesday by Washington United for Marriage, which is working to approve Referendum 74. The donation was made on Oct. 15, but didn't publicly post online with the Public Disclosure Commission until Tuesday. Referendum 74 asks voters to either approve or reject the law allowing same-sex marriage that was passed by the Legislature earlier this year.
Bill Gates had made a $100,000 contribution to the campaign earlier this year.
About $11 million has been spent on the campaign so far, with a bulk of it spent by gay marriage supporters. Washington United for Marriage has far outraised its opponents, bringing in nearly $11 million compared to the more than $2 million raised so far by Preserve Marriage Washington, which opposes the law.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Ho hum,.. in other words, the American Tax payer just contributed all of that money - Gates accountants telling him to be so very charitable on behalf of this cause - because hypocrite uber filthy rich Gates can claim a tax write off on this "donation" and all of those other discretionary ones he offers up here, there and everywhere.
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And the cash depleted out of work middle class - has to pay for it all. Thanks for DUMPING more tax debt on each of us - you one percenter arrogant hypocrite.
@englishdaisy "can claim a tax write off on this 'donation'" Political donations cannot be deducted from taxes. That includes money given to candidates, campaigns, parties, or political action committees. It's estimated that he has donated over 28 billion to charity. One percent of 28 billion is 280 million. So this isn't even close to being 1 percent of the contributions he has made to better mankind. His message to you should be "you're welcome".
 @englishdaisy I'll take this over hiding it in the Cayman islands or a Swiss Bank account.  I'll just consider it my contribution to a cause I support anyway.
I have no problem with Bill Gates contributing to whomever/whatever he wants. What does concern me is that the U.S. has apparently declined to the point that elections can be bought. Look at the Presidential campaign. Almost as much press is given to the millions, or is it now billions, of dollars the candidates have. Maybe we should just forget the campaigning and pay people directly for their votes.
 @Nobody And now it's just the major corporations controlling everything. The government of the people, by the people and for the people is just an old stale joke.
@Nobody "U.S. has apparently declined to the point that elections can be bought" The "decline" occured around 1789. Money has always been a controlling factor, from plantation owners to party bosses, it's all pretty much the same thing.
Y'know, Bill Gates has more money than I can even imagine, but (at least in that photo), that is one very unhappy-looking man... or possibly having some health issues..? Â Â
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Insofar as where he spends his money, no comment one way or the other... it's his money; he's allowed to use it for whatever he chooses. Â Â
Wow thats a big bribe... I am so glad that money decides things in the USSA.
 @gjUhnhwwMspREt Obviously you don't know the difference between a contribution and a bribe.
Way to go, Bill. Â Between you and Mr. Buffet, there just might be some hope for our top 0.01%. Â
Wow.... Bill looks like death warmed over in the picture... See what having a Gazillion dollars does to you. Laying awake nights trying to figure out what / who to buy next.
 @Razor1 Actually, he's taken his money and he and his wife are doing a lot of good with it through their foundation.
@Razor1 It's look like that, or waste money on trying to look young. I think Bill made the right choice.
What a waste of money ! ! Â I thought he was trying to do something good with his money....very sad.
 @sortbait Why is it a waste of money? Because you disagree with it?
@sortbait $500,000 represents less than .0001% of the amount he has given to charity. So he has done something good with his money, he simply decided to throw some spare change he found in his couch at this issue.
Some people do not see past there own prejudice, greed, egos, whatever. It does not matter. It is Bill' money, if he wanted to donate it to the "save the Tonka Toys law" that is his right.He can spend HIS moey where he wants!
 @iamtroglodite sure, he can spend his money however he wants to. But when Bill or anyone else is promoting something that is detrimental to society decent people have a right and obligation to let him know.Â
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I'm hoping that Apple or someone else will come out with that equal or superior operating system and we can then bill dry up.
So, first of all I am personally against same sex marriage. I am also against legalising drugs. Those both are my own personal feelings. Now, I do not see how either one is more detrimental to society than the other. Fact of the matter is, I don't see what Apple, Microsoft, or even Bugs Bunny has to do with Bill's decision to spend a few bucks on something he believes in.
Oh, and by the way, instead of worrying about what someone spends their spare change on, maybe people should be more worried about checking out their voting manuals; study them well, that way when you get your ballet you CAN make a difference on the issues that are important to you. I see it every year. People complain, then when the time comes they don't vote, then they complain. My God, they can't make it any easier. The ballot is mailed to you! Used to be you actualy had to work at it to vote!
with regards to this issue, gates giving the money is a real waste in the sense that there are not many folks on the fence who might be influenced by what  advertising says
@kramr Wasting $500000 to Bill is like you or me standing in line at Safeway and grabbing a Snickers. Who cares anyway? It is, after all, his money! I do not support gay marriage, but I support his right to spend his money the way he wants.
What a giant waste of money. You either know the gay agenda is destructive to society or you don't. No amount of money spent on advertising is going to alter the ability to think correctly for those who know the gay agenda is socially destructive.
@ORthinker yeah how socially destructive of two loving individuals to go on about their lives causing no harm to intelligent people. Perhaps that's the problem, you seem to lack the intelligent part.
When two people of the same sex engage in a sexual activity together this is not love it's just perversion. However, these two people are out of sight and in private it doesn't cause harm to others is just private perversion.
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 This would be intelligence to understand this. If you don't understand that same-sex relationships in a sexual manner is perversion it is you who lacks intelligence and common sense.
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Trying to normalize this perversion is socially destructive and should be scorned along with the people that try to promote this socially destructive behavior.
 @Mikey actually, I think those things you mention are also quite bad for society and definitely hurt children I just personally find the idea of what same-sex looks like exceptionally discussing.  What makes the singular most important difference between same-sex and the others you mention the other people with their sins are not telling everybody else, they should like it or that they should give it a try nor are they trying to promote it to children.
 @Festivus I'm not selling hate, I'm voicing my opinion and feelings. Those that don't live in this particular perversion mostly agree with me. I don't expect somebody that lives a perverse lifestyle to believe it's wrong. If they did maybe they make some sort of honest attempt to get away from that lifestyle.
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I would imagine everybody has one sort or another of perversion that comes to their mind once in a while, but the decent sane person will push it out of their head, rather than to act on it.Â
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I think it's somewhat of an addiction. Sort of like people that do alcohol or drugs. They think that their self-destructive behavior will make them feel better so they do it . Then they get in a rut of continuing the bad behavior. Then they go through the whole process of thinking I'm a good person, so it must be okay and the perversion takes them over and soon they tell themselves this is the way I am. This thinking is what gives us drug addicts, thieves, murderers and all other forms of antisocial behavior.Â
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But then, let's get back to the idea of hate. It's right and justified to hate and behavior to not do so diminishes you and then society as a whole. This is how society morals continue to decay.Â
 @Ramsesthegreat  @ORthinkerÂ
in these two posts I didn't mention religion, you have a chip on your shoulder about religion.Â
one does not need to be religious to know that same-sex activities are degenerate, antisocial, and deviant. Â
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Your just like most who languish in one sort of perversion or another. You want to feel good about yourself so you decide your particular perversion must be good because you think of yourself as good. unfortunately, you're just wrong and not ever likely to recognize it because you choose not to.
 @ORthinker <--- Mr Horse Manure speaks. So why aren't you railing on how divorce between heterosexual couples, which is rampant, is so great for society? Or child and spouse abandonment? Or child abuse? Or alcoholism? Drug abuse? But of course they all pale in comparison to that evil specter of ((((GASP)))) same-sex unions! The only perversion is your thinking.
 @ORthinker Go sell hate somewhere else - we're all full up here.
 @noneofyourbizzness I'm sorry, what did you say?
@Ramsesthegreat Dont ever ever come on here and expect your insane rhetoric will go unchallenged.
@ORthinker I'm not embarrassed for my strong convictions.I care for my gay friends and family.I think your attacks are disgusting.I'm way too familiar with your religon.Matter of fact I attended Christian schools.Nutjobs like you are the reason why people are fleeing your religon in droves.
@ORthinker I guess you believe in the same thing that Paul Ryan and Romney believe which is "remember, your rights end with my beliefs." Tell me how two people who love each other affect you in any way, shape, or form. And I'm sorry but religion is not a valid excuse to discriminate against fellow humans.
When you come down from whatever it is you're using come back and read your post and hopefully you have the intelligence to be embarrassed, I'm embarrassed for you.
@ORthinker People lash out when they see that the walls of their castle are't holding. The divorce rate is rising and births to unwed mothers are at about 50%. People keep talking about the "ideal" family like we are back in "Leave it to Beaver" days. Who's kidding who? Your daughter got pregnant at 17. You divorced your wife or your husband. You lived with someone else or two before you married another one. Maybe that didn't work out. Your kids saw all of it and they shuffled back and forth on weekdays and weekends and heard the fights and hopefully lived to tell the tale. Get over your fear and guilt and focus on your own family.Let decent gay people love and support kids and start families. Everyone deserves a home and well meaning parents. I don't care if you are gay or straight. It;'s being a unloving jerk that makes you a bad parent. It isn't about sex. Your kids shouldn't be in your bedroom and those who can't stop thinking that sex and gender is all that this is about, don't actually seem to care enough for the kids themselves. The world's children needs good people whatever sexual preference they have. They are smarter than you think they are, and maybe smarter than you are if you can't figure this one out.Islamic countries make laws based on their religion and our founding fathers tried to keep religion out of laws so that we don't go down the same road that islamic countries are going down. What happens when you can't eat shellfish and companies shut down because they are set up to make a cotton/polyester blend. Are you going to be okay taking animals to your priest to be sacrificed whenever you commit any sin? When someone thinks about committing adultery or looks at his neighbor lustfully, will you be there to cast the first stone when the state condemns him to be stoned to death? I happen to also blame Christ himself. He is clearly allowing his name to be used for such purposes and allowing his so-called message of salvation to be forever associated with extremists like yourself.If Christ (or his Father) did not want their names associated with such demoralizing, condescending and hurtful language, I would imagine that they possess the resources to stop it. But no, they are making a conscious decision to allow such bigotry and hate to spread to my detriment and that of my brothers and sisters in the LGBTi movement. It has become hard to hear the name "Christ" without thinking of the hateful attitude that must drive that individual to allow nutjobs like younutjobs like you who don't know anything 'bout biology to be permitted to essentially be the sole purveyors of his message. (I really don't see too many other religious leaders condemning these ones and I exclude the nuns since they have a hell of a lot of other crap to worry about!) So Jesus, in spite of your three long hours on the cross (I believe Matthew Shepard was tied to the fence for quite a bit longer, sorry!), you really have nothing to say for yourself! You and you alone are permitting these actions to be done in your name. So who should I look to to blame? (And don't tell me these people are misinterpreting your words and acting on their own--this has gone on long enough!)
He's looking like crap. Maybe he should go take some more vaccines.
 @Jamie Why, because he doesn't go in for Botox or face lifts or all of the other stuff that real men go for? He looks just fine.
 @Jamie He just might keel over soon!
Bill's looking kinda rough.....marriage and kids will do that to ya -- I know! Â :)
Hmmm.....does this mean all the anti-gay marriage proponents are going to boycott Microsoft like the gay people boycotted Chik-Fil-A? Ehhh....probably not.
@scoreboard Actually there is a good chance that they will boycott Microsoft.Afterall they have called for boycotts from Kraft foods to Starbucks,even Google for christ's sake! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/american-family-association-google-video_n_1666218.html
How about feeding the homeless or helping underprivileged children instead of throwing money at this petty issue?
 @randomdude Discrimination is never petty.
 @Mikey For being 3% of the population, they are a vocal bunch. They don't want equal rights, they want to be "special" and will scream and throw a tantrum until they are recognized as a protected class. They preach tolerance, but show none of their to anyone who has a differing opinion of there own and cry "bigotry" this and " hate" that. It's all nonsense, they have all the same rights as any normal person, yet equivocate their situation to be the same as the blacks who were actually discriminated against in the 60's. Many people are "bullied" for different reasons other than being gay, but they seem to think they have a monopoly on that claim. Many people who might have been sympathetic to their so called plight, have been put off by their ridiculous, militant attitudes. We need to focus on the economy, jobs, changing our foreign policy to that of a non-intervention one. We should be focusing on schools, education, healthcare or a multitude of other more urgent matters that effect a great deal more of the population than 3%.
The only âspecialâ status gays have is something they abhor rather than seek: not being fully protected by the Constitution. In too many places, gays have no legal protection from being denied a job, a promotion, or housing merely because they are gay. It is a profound insult to tell people that their desire to enjoy the same basic rights as other Americans is really a desire to have âspecialâ rights unavailable to others.What is it about some people that they need to feel superior to someone ...anyone? There are men who need women to be inferior, Christians who need non-Christians to be inferior, religious believers who need nonbelievers and atheists to be inferior, citizens who need foreigners to be inferior...and heterosexuals who need gays to be inferior. Why canât those who are different be equal in their differences?
 @randomdude Seems to me he's probably done a helluva lot more than you at both.
@randomdude Bill Gates has donated billions of dollars to charties here at home and abroad.To the gay couples who are denied a priveledge that you and I can easily take for granted,marriage equality is a huge issue.Just because you don't care about it doesn't mean that everyone shares your sentiments.
@noneofyourbizzness extremely well said. To those it doesn't affect it may be meaningless, but to those that it directly affects it is a huge issue. Ask yourself this, if tomorrow the government claimed your marriage was invalid and pulled all benefits from it, how would you feel?
@randomdude I usually don't comment about issues that I really don't care about.
 I'm not married. I think marriage is a joke for anyone since I am not religious. There are far more pressing issues.
 @randomdude ....then there's the malaria issue he's trying to irradicate.  How about doing something HERE in the USA?
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