Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein spoke with CBS News about taking a stand for marriage equality and that while he personally believes in it, the reason he took a stand for it publicly was for his company:
"The only reason why most people are interested in what I have to say is because of what I represent at Goldman Sachs, and therefore I only use my platform for Goldman Sachs issues. This issue is a business issue. It’s a civil rights issue, but it’s also a business issue."
Added Blankfein:
"The ability for employment benefits to be shared among spouses, the ability to move people who are dependent on visas for trailing spouses, all hinges on being able to deal with families of gay people in the same way that you deal with families of straight people. Otherwise, they can't move around. People are not happy, and we can't attract a whole set of very talented people…Even if it's comfortable here, it might not be comfortable, you know, a hundred yards from this place, and, for all I know, there are still people, today, who are living lives burdened by not being able to reveal who they really are and are living in a state of discomfort. That is really unfortunate, and I feel sorry. I don't know who they are, but there has to be someone. I feel sorry for them, and I am not yet saying that we are in a world where everything is easy for everybody."
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…
