The Washington state Senate rejected a bill to add sexual orientation to the state’s anti-discrimination law on Thursday.

House Bill 1515 would have banned discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing, insurance and jobs by adding sexual orientation to a state law that already barred discrimination based on race, religion, gender, national origin, marital status and physical or mental handicap. The bill failed to pass in the senate by one vote. Two democrats voted against the bill along with 23 republicans.

George Cheung, executive director of Equal Rights Washington said:

“We are profoundly disappointed at the vote today. It shows how incredibly out of step they are with what the will of the people is. … We will make sure to work hard to educate people in (Finkbeiner’s) district about his role.”

Corporations supporting the bill included Boeing, Nike, Qwest Communications and Hewlett-Packard. One major Washington corporation not on the support list was Microsoft, which has previously won awards for its internal policies on LGBT rights from the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.

Opposition from Washington area mega churches, including the threat of a national boycott from the Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, appear to be a factor in Microsoft’s decision to move from supporting the bill to a neutral stance. The bill was overwhelmingly popular with Washington State residents, with 71% of Washingtonians in favor of the bill.

Well. Now that we know Microsoft is afraid of a boycott, let’s give it to them. You can replace your existing Microsoft Office products with the free and excellent open source solution Open Office from Sun Microsystems. You can send your original Microsoft disks along with a letter stating your displeasure over their interference in local politics to:

Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399

For a company which has historically supported lgbt rights, Microsoft has sent a strong message that boycott threats from the right are effective. Push back – download Open Office today and send Microsoft your own message that the rights of extremists are not more important than equal rights for all citizens.