Dating site OkCupid used it’s homepage to make a bold statement after it came to light that Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich donated $1000 to the campaign for the anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 in 2008. But now it’s being reported that OKCupid co-founder and CEO Sam Yagan also donated to an anti-gay candidate.
Specifically, Yagan donated $500 to Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) in 2004, reports Uncrunched. During his time as congressman from 1997 to 2009, Cannon voted for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, against a ban on sexual-orientation based job discrimination, and for prohibition of gay adoptions.
That raises the question as to whether or not OKCupid’s actions were based upon principle, or merely a cynical PR stunt. Furthermore, it’s possible that both Eich’s and Yagan’s politics have changes since having made the previous donations.
Unfortunately, there was no discussion of the nuance surrounding the issues as gay groups went after Eich’s scalp purely to make a political statement, while abandoning any shred of the very thing they purport to champion – tolerance.