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Back in 2012, the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce was the first North Carolina business group to declare its opposition to Amendment One, a short-lived, voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
Fittingly in 2015, the group is celebrating the Supreme Court’s epic decision last week to order that gay marriage be permitted across the country. On Tuesday, Chamber Chairman Bill Brian described discriminatory policies such as Amendment One as “obstructions to talent attraction.”
The chairman’s statement echoed those of major business leaders such as Apple, Facebook, Google and Coca-Cola, all of which officially stated their support for marriage equality in the weeks leading up to last week’s landmark SCOTUS decision.
“Support of mariage equality is the right thing to do, and doing the right thing is always good for business,” said Brian. “As someone who lives and works in Durham, I recognize the important and productive role the LGBT community plays in Durham and the state as a whole.”