Gay Business Owners Still Face Challenges

Gay business owners still face challenges Some people realized he is gay after he was quoted in a newspaper story about gay rights. Despite increasing acceptance of homosexuality in the U.S., gay small business owners say they still encounter discrimination from possible customers and investors. An owner senses from a potential client's body language or from a sales conversation cut short that they're uncomfortable. The need to raise public awareness about AIDS, which has affected many gays, and the fight for legalization of same-sex marriage have encouraged more gays to be open about their sexual orientation and has increased acceptance of them by others. [...] gay rights advocates note that 29 states don't prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Firer, who co-owns New York-based Hall Co., says he doesn't believe those chefs act out of malice. "Stressful and busy people want to be as comfortable as they can from moment to moment," says Firer, who does have accounts with male chefs who are from other countries. "A lot of the way guys relate to each other is with sports, and frankly, that doesn't interest me," says Nayte Carrick, owner of ClikClok, an Orlando, Fla.-based software company. When his female colleague tried, the client was willing to schedule an event. Ryan Hayward is anxious about potential investors for New York-based Hatch Co., which operates a website where crafts makers can sell jewelry, home furnishings and other items.