Nordstrom supports gay marriage

NEW YORK -- Nordstrom has joined such other Washington-based retailers as Starbucks Coffee Company and Amazon.com in coming out in support of approving Referendum 74, a Washington state ballot measure that seeks to affirm same-sex marriage with voters. (In July, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, pledged $2.5 million in support of the measure.)



Company president Blake Nordstrom sent out a companywide memo that detailed the retailer's "philosophical approach" to business, which includes a workplace where "every employee is welcomed and respected." The memo was co-signed by his brothers Erik and Pete, who are also executives at the company.



"We feel the next step in this journey is to now support freedom to marry, also called marriage equality," Nordstrom wrote in the memo, as reported by The Los Angeles Times. "We gave this thoughtful consideration and felt the time was right to come out in support of this civil rights issue.”



Nordstrom already offers domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples, and sexual orientation is included in its anti-discrimination policy.