http://www.sctimes.com/article/20111024/NEWS01/110240023/Few-Fortune-500-companies-Minn-take-stand-marriage-amendmentMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — John Taft is a businessman and a Republican, great-grandson to President William Howard Taft and heir to an Ohio Republican dynasty. But it was Gov. Mark Dayton whom he spoke alongside at a recent fundraiser in favor of gay rights and against Minnesota’s marriage amendment.
What put him on a stage with the Democratic governor? Taft thinks voting to ban gay marriage in the state Constitution would be bad for business.
“I’m doing it because I truly do believe that keeping Minnesota competitive depends a great deal on attracting and retaining the best talent the world has to offer,” Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management U.S., said.
Opponents of the marriage amendment on the 2012 ballot see natural allies in the state’s prominent companies, long seen as integral to preserving the state’s fabled quality of life. But the symbolic and financial firepower of companies such as Target, General Mills and others with a history of supporting gay causes may not be so forthcoming.