"The unspoken factor in Amazon's search for a new home: Jeff Bezos' support for gay rights," 27 April 2018

Although the company's search materials don't make it explicit, Amazon has quietly made rights for and acceptance of gay and transgender people part of its criteria in choosing a second headquarters... In North Carolina, company representatives asked pointed questions... about... the "bathroom bill," which restricted the use of public facilities by transgender people, according to a person in the room... Given the publicity and economic impact of the project, including as much as $5 billion in capital expenditures, Amazon's push on gay and transgender rights may increase pressure on state and local policymakers who have either declined to institute equal-rights rules or passed laws some view as discriminatory... Amazon also declined to answer questions about the meetings, and it is not known how much a region's stance on gay rights ultimately will factor into its decision... While Amazon's inquiries on gay rights may anger conservatives, LGBTQ advocates say the company is not going far enough. 

[T]he cause of gay rights has emerged as a focus for the company's founder and chief executive, Jeff Bezos... Bezos declined an interview through Amazon representatives, who instead provided comments from Anthony Little, president of the company's LGBTQ affinity group... Little said he was "very proud" of the company's policies, such as expansion of health benefits to fully cover transition surgeries for transgender employees and opposition to Washington state's version of a bathroom bill. "Ultimately, I think Amazon wants us to do what is right for LGBTQ employees," he said.