One thing that is always said is that the best way to make people less homophobic is to let them get to know gay people. I used to work in an environment that could be very homophoic…not the violent kind but the macho B.S. I worked there, was out to my good co-worker friends, did well, got promoted, was well liked, then brought a boyfriend to the company party. Rather than telling people one by one I was suddenly out to the whole company. A few people acted weird after, but the majority were either very cool or uneffected by it. Afterwards I did notice a large lessening of any gay jokes. I was very pleasently surprised by just how well it went.

Some people are unchangeable, but in many of these cases it can end up beeing one of those "Teachable moments". I moved on to a different job years abgo, but while I know that several of those people who before wouldn't have given a crap about gay issues have now recently said to me that they can't believe we can't get married. So worked out well for me in that instance.

I've been laughing at gays for years for free. Now I learn that I can get PAID FOR THIS?

I corrected the Creative Director at a design agency I was working at when he regularly said "that's so gay". I simply told him that a manager could not afford to be so careless with his speach. He didn't do it again, but didn't appreciate being corrected either. That's ok, I outlasted him at the job and the new CD is a cute gay guy who heard my comment years before. He never said so, but I hope he appreciated my willingness to stand up and say something when I needed to. It didn't protect me from the lay offs, but it was a moment of empowerment where I did something and somehow didn't take it too far and become an ass (a real feat for me).

@Rick:
As you clearly have no other skills, then yes, perhaps you could work at Focus on the Family, or NOM.

They could use an asshole such as yourself to continue their decent into irrelevance and obscurity. Douche.

I worked for a government contractor, and security clearances were required for job promotion. I'd been out since the minute I was born, though, so part of my résumé included bartending in a gay bar. Luckily this was the 80s, so rather than being fired, my security clearance applications were simply "lost" for — believe it or not — up to two years.

The gays do a lot of things deserving of laughter.

I've lost several good jobs for being gay. The last two in a city: Minneaopolis, where there are supposed to be legal protections. I worked for a national corporation Contracted to promote Arts Organizations. One of the Managers who was a Christian Fanatic had a crush on me and I made it clear to her what my sexual dispositon was. She had me run out of the company by a close Religious freak friend of hers.
The Minneapolis Civil Rights Commision commited unproblematic fraud in their disposition of the case, since only Religious fanatics(black )ran the organization. The mayor promised to interveen but ran me around. The cities gay organization: pretty much as closeted as everyone else, did nothing to intervene.

The lesson in this is that laws are no better than the the people enforcing them. A lot of people in the Gay rights business seem to be there only because they are cashing in, and have no serious intention of fighting for real gay liberation, which is far from being an easy road, and ages before there is any resolution.

More interesting, I read an article by the gay employee of a large California firm, who's story was about what he had discovered about his own company, in which he was fairly well placed. The article was entitled, quite appropriately, "the Mormon Mafia" . He discovered that the company which is very large was literelly glutted with Mormons who were hired first and formost above any better qualified employees. Male Mormons were excused ,e.g, for fucking female secretaries in presumably being fired but just really being moved around. The whole Company was under Mormon Control.
The fact about that is that they are very secretive and thier goal is to take over the country sereptitiously company by company and state by state.and of course get rid of Gays.
He thinks that we grosely underestimate the power of that group.

'"tolerable amount" you could endure (i.e. a co-worker saying "that's so gay"'

I actually had this happen to me several times at a previous position; I didn't get along with my boss very well. I complained once, and she witnessed the other incident, and when she let me go I got a month's pay and a glowing reccomendation – I suspect it had something to do with this.

But RICK, nobody beats being evil like straight men, right? No laughing matter.

@Dennis:

Anger is not your color.

FAIL.

I once walked out of a restaurant where I was making very good money as a waiter because the maitre'd kept on referring to the gay staff as "fudgepackers"

Would I Take a Job That You Knew To Be Hostile to Queers? Fuck NO.

If some of the people used "that's so gay", then sure, I'd take the job; I'd just tell them I didn't appreciate those comments.

If it were openly hostile, though, with clear insults and such, then I would NOT take the job and I would report it to a higher official.

Would You Take a Job That You Knew To Be Hostile to Queers?

Absolutely. Easier to annihilate the organization from within.

This is the age of anonymity, with a few simple proxy servers. If an organization discriminates against LGBT employees, the world should know about it — including that organization's customers and clients, which doubtlessly includes a large number of LGBT people. Anti-gay discrimination in the workplace is economic poison, especially in the present climate.

Hostile is different than just flat out ignorant. I mean if they were harassing queers and making it harder on them than anyone else and if the company gave money against queer issues, then no, I wouldn't work there. But if we are saying they are just ignorant but don't harass…then by being there I'm just being me in the world. (Since I'm surrounded by ignorant folks as it is) I am who I am and if someone at work harassed me consistently for it, I'd bring it up to HR and if it wasn't handled then I'd go above them. But I wouldn't purposely work for a company that I knew was anti-queer. Although, I've learned that working in the corporate world is just the same as being in high school. I don't think there is an easy answer to this. How's that for a convoluted answer?

I am currently in a job that condones homophobia, albeit not the violent kind. Hardware stores have always been a boys club, so my sexuality isn't up for discussion. I'm not out and don't know if I ever could be. I'm sure my coworkers have their suspicions. I don't know what would happen if I came out.

Why? I'm a student, a year away from my degree and it's the only thing I know how to do well that pays.

Don't know. i'm not gay just a rights advocate from birth.

my last job as a manager at HomeDepot was really gay friendly, (well… making fun of the 4 or 5 really known gay people was never done but making fun of straight man for doing some that might be seen as gay was a sport everyone including myself took part in.)

i'd have to say that if the company was anti-LGBTQ and i could tell i would start looking else where for a job.