Anti-Gay Campaign Targets EA
EA has become the target of an on-going anti-gay letter-writing campaign. The company has received “several thousand” letters objecting to its inclusion of same-sex relationships in recent games such as Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
The letters have been sent to a cross-section of senior leaders at EA, often carrying a threat to boycott EA games unless it changes its policy.
The company says it will continue to include LGBT characters in its games, as options. EA’s chief spokesperson Jeff Brown said, “Every one of EA’s games includes ESRB content descriptors so it’s hard to believe anyone is surprised by the content. This isn’t about protecting children, it’s about political harassment.”
Recent EA games like Mass Effect 3 have included options for characters to engage in same-sex as well as heterosexual relationships.
Many of the letters come from a religious base in Florida, the Florida Family Association, which recently posted a call to action against SWTOR’s LGBT content, and which claims that “extremists” forced EA to include the content. An example;
He also dismissed the suggestion that it is forcing a homosexual agenda on children.
Brown continues, “We have met with LBGT groups and sponsored industry forums to discuss content and harassment of players in online forums. In short, we do put options for same-sex relationships in our games; we don’t tolerate hate speech on our forums.”
Michael Cole-Schwartz of the Human Rights Campaign have praised EA claiming, “Those of us who work toward LGBT equality are pleased with the fair-minded stance EA’s taken. EA should be commended for their inclusive approach that reflects the diversity of our communities.”
“It’s important that companies know these protests represent a fringe interest.”
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