Openly Gay Senator Jarrett Barrios Has Announced that He Will Leave the Massachusetts Senate in July to Become the President and Chief Executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation
In today's Boston Globe it was announced that the Commonwealth's champion for LGBT Rights, Senator Jarrett Barrios, will move on to head Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation. Hopefully, while at the helm, Jarrett will be able to educate Blue Cross Blue Shield about LGBT issues and let them know that sponsoring organizations such as the Black Ministerial Alliance is not in the best interest of ALL citizens of the Commonwealth.
KnowThyNeighbor.org stumbled upon the BMA's Thank You Donor List recently in which major donors and supporters were honored at the "Roasting Reverend Ray Hammond" on November 16, 2006. Hammond tesified before Congress in support of the Federal Marriage Amendment blaming same-sex marriage for high rates of fatherlessness in the African-American community. Two of the largest donors (contributing over $ 25,000) were Blue Cross Blue Shield AND Caleb and Bronwyn Loring. You remember Bronwyn Loring...she was one of the original marriage petition signers, VoteOnMarriage major funder and one of the nastiest letter writers in the anti-gay campaign of the Massachusetts Family Institute, justifying her objection to same-sex marriage by suggesting gay and lesbian relationships lead to "higher rates of corprophilia, fisting, ovarian cancer and bacterial vaginosis." Her husband Caleb Loring, III was photographed by KnowThyNeighbor at one of the VOM meetings at the Beverly Farms Public Library, one of the same type of meetings that LGBT were demonized shamelessly.
KnowThyNeighbor.org contacted Blue Cross Blue Shield's Public Relations Spokeswoman, Susan Lahey to express our discontent regarding BCBS's contribution to the Black Ministerial Alliance, BMA's history as a chief sponsor of the anti-gay marriage petition here in Massachusetts, BCBS's sponsorship of The Rev. Hammond Roast, and the association with the bigoted Loring couple. Ms. Lahey was very quick to point out that Blue Cross Blue Shield contributes to the HRC, the AIDS Action Committee, Community Servings, GLAD and other LGBT-oriented philanthropies. Ms. Lahey then added, "I received a call very similar to yours but questioning Blue Cross's contribution to the HRC and I told them the same thing, that we contribute to ALL social institutions."
I reminded Ms. Lahey that the HRC is not demonizing a minority, changing constitutions to segregate a group of people, giving permission for society to continue to hate, and blaming say, African-Americans for internal LGBT problems. I was also told that many of the members of the Blue Cross Blue Shield leadership signed MassEquality's list of corporate leaders who believed marriage equality is good for the Commonwealth on the financial level.
If you ever wonder who or what is responsible for the proliferation of intolerance in society, it is the money and the supposedly "good" people who continue to support institutions that have not yet cleaned house of this intolerance. Check out The Black Ministerial Alliance's Donor List, there are others on there that should be ashamed of themselves or at least should know better. Give them a call and educate them. Ask them if they advocated on the behalf of LGBT people and their families while they were handing the BMA that sponsorship check. Ask them if they even know the Black Ministerial Alliance's anti-gay history.
It seems there are alot of excuses. Excuses as to why the bigots like the Lorings continue their hateful campaigns, their contributions to the fellow anti-SSM amendment sponsor, the Black Ministerial Alliance, is suspect in and of itself. But there are also too many excuses coming from organizations like Blue Cross Blue Shield as to how they justify funding those organizations which are pro-active in doing bad things to society almost as much as they are in doing good things for society.
Congratulations to SenatorJarrett Barrios. Here is hoping that he is successful and will address some of these concerns. And here is hoping that I won't be posting a blog re-counting his excuses for muzzling up to the Lorings, Reverend Hammond or anyone else that would attack our constitution, our families, our children and us.
Susan Lahey, Spokesperson, Blue Cross Blue Shield 617-246-4842
Tom Lang, Director