‘Insurance’ to make sure there are no ‘misunderstandings.’ A protection racket to give the (mythical?) gay mafia a bit of a bite. Does a business that gives to the Human Rights Campaign buy themselves a get-out-of-jail-free card to use in their other endeavors?

That certainly seems to be what Garff Automotive’s John Garff is suggesting should be the case at the end of this article.  Californians Against Hate has called for a boycott against Garff Automotive in response to $100,000 in donations supporting Proposition 8 made by the wife of the Chairman and CEO of the dealership.  Included in Garff’s response is the claim that the dealership gave money to the Human Rights Campaign and offers a “favorable” benefits package to employees in same-sex partnerships.

I’m not much of a fan of the HRC, and I can easily see how a company could have believed that a donation to the HRC was enough to buy protection and escape scrutiny for the balance of their treatment of their neighbors.  Not too long ago a little gift to the Rainbow Don probably could have bought a lot of protection.

But not anymore.  If nothing else, the aftermath of the Proposition 8 defeat showed just how little Human Rights Campaign and the rest of the self-appointed gay leadership actually lead in the 21st century.  There are protests they don’t vet and spokespeople they don’t know.  There are thousands of websites that they absolutely can’t control, and maybe, hopefully, they’re finally realizing that their only real contribution in recent years was the ubiquitous yacht club decal for the car bumper that allowed us to identify one another in strange neighborhoods.

The boycott of Garff itself means little to me directly.  They have no local dealerships, and I’m not in the market for a car anyways.  That said, I hope it sticks, and I hope it hurts, because every dime they don’t earn is hopefully a few fewer pennies Katherine Garff can give in future battles for marriage equality.  But boycott list or not, I will not give money to people who will use that money to take away my rights and attack my family.  From the local gas station that proudly displayed their Yes on 8 signs and all the way up the economic food chain, when I have a choice about doing business with someone who will try and hurt me and my family, my business has to go elsewhere.  No matter how much protection’s been paid to the Rainbow Don.