Amazon CEO gives $2.5M for same-sex marriage

Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash.

Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, announced Friday they are donating $2.5 million to the campaign to defend Washington’s same-sex marriage law.

With the gift, Washington United for Marriage has raised more than $5 million for its referendum campaign.

“It’s a game changer for us,” said campaign manager Zach Silk in Seattle. “It puts us in a unique position to win.”

But, his group is still the underdog, he said. In 32 previous elections nationally, same-sex advocates have lost. Silk said he believes the Washington election may be the turning point, thanks in part to the Bezoses’ donation.

Amazon publicly supported the law earlier this year, along with other prominent Pacific Northwest businesses, including Microsoft, Starbucks Corp. and Nike Inc.

Last month, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder Bill Gates each donated $100,000 to support the law.

Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener said the Bezoses’ donation was a personal decision and that “Jeff and MacKenzie feel strongly about the issue.”