1,200 businesses form anti-discrimination coalition

More than 1,200 businesses have joined together to form an initiative to show they don’t discriminate against customers or employees based on race, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other characteristics. 

NBC News reported that companies like Yelp, Airbnb and Lyft are now part of the “Open to All” coalition, meaning they do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or other characteristics.

“No one should have to worry that they will be denied service,” coalition campaign manager Calla Rongerude told NBC News. “No one should be turned away from a business simply because of who they are.”

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The initiative, which launched this week, was created by the LGBTQ think tank Movement Advancement Project and also has the backing of nearly 200 advocacy groups, according to NBC News.

Rongerude told the network that the group started in response to the Masterpiece Cakeshop Supreme Court case.

The justices ruled this summer that a baker had the right to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple over his religious beliefs. The narrow ruling meant that companies do not have the right to discriminate against gay people.

Businesses in the initiative can signal their participation with a window sticker, or by saying they are “open to all” on their Yelp profile pages, according to NBC News.

Luther Lowe, Yelp’s senior vice president of public policy, wrote in a blog post that adding the feature will give businesses the opportunity “to distinguish themselves as a safe and welcoming place to everyone.”