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Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com, Inc. Bezos and his wife have donated $2.5 million to support a same-sex marriage group.
While it’s safe to say most Americans have received a gift from Amazon.com at some point, Washington United for Marriage got a whopper.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie Bezos, made a $2.5 million donation to the advocacy coalition, which supports same-sex marriage in the state of Washington. The donation, which campaign manager Zach Silk called “extraordinary” in a statement, roughly doubles WUM’s budget.
State lawmakers approved, and Governor Christine Gregoire signed, a same-sex marriage bill in February. Referendum 74 was brought by an opposing group, Preserve Marriage Washington, to put the issue to voters in November. It is campaigning for “no” votes on the referendum.
The Bezos’ donation is believed to be the largest from an individual in support of same-sex marriage, according to WUM. In total, it said it had raised more than $5 million in support of its campaign urging voters to check “yes” on the referendum in November and legalize same-sex marriage. If the referendum is passed, Washington will be the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage, although the only one to do so via the ballot box.
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