Small signs of progress

On my drive to work this morning, I caught Thom Hartmann interviewing a representative (whose name I failed to catch) of the Timothy Plan, a Biblically-focused mutual fund. The Timothy Plan refuses to invest in companies that they believe promote pornography, abortion, or homosexuality. Major companies they've denounced include Wal-Mart and the Ford Motor Company.

Thom brings right-wing guests on the show quite frequently, and the result is almost always a frustrating round of sparring that creates more heat than light. In this case, though, buried in the debate was an interesting concession. The Timothy Plan representative said, at one point, that they don't screen out companies just for providing domestic partner benefits, because if a company is providing health benefits to its other workers it's "only natural" that they'd extend them to homosexual employees as well. This appears to represent a quiet shift in position. The Timothy Plan used to declare openly that they steered clear of any employer who was providing domestic partner benefits. A check of their website today shows a lot more vagueness. While their screening standards state that they screen out companies that provide financial support "promoting or supporting the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or trans-sexual lifestyle," domestic partner benefits are not mentioned specifically.

Slowly but surely attitudes are changing, even among the religious right.