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Gay Rights Activists Urge Amazon to Avoid These 9 States for Its HQ2

The No Gay? No Way! campaign launched Thursday to urge Amazon not to reward cities in states that are anti-LGBT

LGBTQ advocates launched a campaign Thursday to pressure Amazon not to set up its second headquarters in states that don’t have protections for LGBTQ people, NBC News reported.

Eleven of the 20 cities on Amazon’s list of finalists — Atlanta, Austin, Columbus, Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, and Northern Virginia — are located in states that currently have no legal protections against firing someone, denying them housing or refusing them service because they are LGBTQ.

"The goal of this campaign is for Amazon to abide by its own values of diversity and equality, and not reward cities that are anti-LGBT," Conor Gaughan, manager of the "No Gay? No Way!" campaign, told NBC OUT. "Amazon has always been a great ally for LGBTQ issues, and we hope this gives them a chance to be a leader. With their huge platform, they can send the signal that if you want business in your state, you can’t discriminate."

Amazon has not yet responded to NBC News' request for comment.

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