Eideard

The founder of Amazon.com and his wife are donating $2.5 million to defend a gay marriage law passed in the US state of Washington.

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos are the latest wealthy backers, joining Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder Bill Gates, who each gave $100,000.

Washington is one of four states facing a November referendum on gay marriage…The law, due to come into effect on 7 June, was put on hold after a petition to vote on Referendum 74 succeeded.

Opponents gathered more than 240,000 signatures in a bid to overturn the law signed in February by Governor Chris Gregoire…

A campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage called the Bezos donation a “game-changer” in their fight to keep the law in place.

“They understand what’s at stake for Washington families and what’s at stake for the country,” Zach Silk told the Associated Press.

“We’re at a tipping point, and they really understand this is an historic moment, and they want to be on the right side of history and want to make history.”

The law is opposed by a range of homophobes – extending from Evangelical so-called Christians to political conservatives – inevitably Republican. Younger folks may not know this; but, there have been a few notable Republicans in the past who supported civil rights legislation. Among them a guy named George Romney. Mitten’s daddy.

Mr Bezos, 48, is ranked by Forbes magazine as the 15th wealthiest person in the US, with a personal fortune of $18.4 billion…

A group of pro-Republican hedge fund managers have also given money to the campaigns supporting same-sex laws in the four states that are to vote in November…Among them are Dan Loeb, a major shareholder of Yahoo; and Paul Singer, founder of Elliott Management and a notable Republican Party donor. They are reported to have supported Freedom to Marry, a group in favour of legalising same-sex marriage…

They are also said to have contributed to American Unity, a political committee founded by Mr Singer, that gives financial backing to Republicans running for Congress who support same-sex marriage.

No one should be surprised that a conservative billionaire who made his money investing in progressive technology also supports modern civil rights. The same holds true for a segment of the investing community. After all, political progress also supports a profitable economy – regardless of what Republican officialdumb and the Kool Aid Party would lead you to believe.