But unlike last year, this year Hutch doesn’t seem to have corporate America running scared. Microsoft, Boeing, and other major corporations are standing by their support of Washington’s gay civil rights bill, and standing up to Hutcherson’s threat of a national boycott. (As usual, the reverend has media-savvy timing; the civil rights bill gets its first public hearing today in the Washington State House of Representatives.)

Asked about Hutcherson’s threat Monday, Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said, “Our position is well known, as we said in our letter last week, and we stick by it.” He declined to comment further.

Boeing spokesman Peter Conte said the company had no plans to withdraw its support.

“The position that we have taken is one that we do feel strongly about,” he said. “It is entirely consistent with our own internal practices and policies.”

Meanwhile, Equal Rights Washington had this to say yesterday about Hutcherson’s timing:

It’s sad that on the day we remember MLK that a small minority of people believes that it’s okay to fire someone or deny them housing simply because they are gay. The vast majority of people in Washington State support protecting all Washingtonians from discrimination.