Anti-gay bigots shunted even further to the margins

Will Justice Roberts break conservatives' hearts all over again? Let's hope so. The captains of industry are weighing in, and not on the side of the haters.

Apple will join other companies, including Facebook and Intel, in an effort to urge the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage across the United States. The group will reportedly make its case this week as the high court evaluates California's Proposition 8: a 2008 ballot proposition that became a constitutional amendment, declaring that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Bloomberg reports that the companies involved in the effort will argue that bans on same-sex marriage in 41 states are harmful to workplace morale and recruiting [...]

The Proposition 8 brief reportedly will include about 60 companies, including Apple, Ebay, Nike, Oracle, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Xerox, and Zynga.

And they're not alone.

[D]ozens of Republicans, including "top advisers" to former President George W. Bush, four former governors, and two members of Congress, have signed a legal brief in support of a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. The group includes HP CEO Meg Whitman, Representatives Ilena Ros-Letinen (R-FL) and Richard Hanna (R-NY), Bush national security advisor Stephen J. Hadley, and others. The brief is said to argue that support of same-sex marriage is commensurate with conservative values of "limited government and maximizing individual freedom."

While the Court's socially conservative wing (Justices Scalia, and Alito) won't care about such arguments, Justices Kennedy and Roberts might be receptive. Roberts, in particular, is more corporatist than anything else. Kennedy has a history of ruling correctly on issues involving gay rights, be it anti-sodomy laws or this historic ruling. (Even Thomas could theoretically rule the right way.)

But even if those briefs do nothing to sway votes on the court, fact is that America's top companies are no longer afraid to stand up for equality, and not just because it's the morally correct thing to do. They're doing it because it's best for business, in this, the Capitalistic States of America. For conservatives who pay more than lip service to what businesses need, they'd be smart to listen.