More human rights organizations have joined the boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air due to their ties with the nation of Brunei, which has proposed capital punishment for crimes of a sexual nature, like sodomy.

Betsy Butler (left), interim director of the California Women’s Law Center, speaks outside the Beverly Hills Hotel during the protest on Monday. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

Since being reported in the Park Labrea News and Beverly Press on April 24, additional LGBT advocates have joined the boycott, and on Monday, groups protested outside of the hotel on Sunset Boulevard.

“The fact of the matter is Los Angeles is not going to stand for this, and even though the sultan is really, really, really far away, the fact is we need to speak with our dollars and stop patronizing his establishments,” said Betsy Butler, interim executive director of the California Women’s Law Center. “We do need to embarrass him.”

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Brunei is preparing to revise its penal code to allow the death penalty — in some cases by stoning — for offenses such as robbery, adultery and what Brunei officials consider to be crimes of sexual nature.

According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, the Brunei Investment Agency owns the Dorchester Collection, which owns the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air. The investment agency is operated by the Brunei Ministry of Finance, according to the institute.

Human rights advocates believe the Sharia law in Brunei is another attempt to dehumanize LGBT individuals in the country. That the sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, owns a hotel that frequently hosts full equality fundraisers is even more infuriating, they said.

“This is about equality, acceptance. That is what Los Angeles is all about,” Butler said.

Since the boycott, several groups, including LGBT advocacy organizations, have cancelled fundraisers at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The Feminist Majority Foundation is among those to do so.

Katherine Spillar, the foundation’s executive vice president and secretary, said hotel staffers regretted their decision to move their fundraiser elsewhere, but they understood that hosting the event at the hotel would undermine the organization’s core values. She said the hotel refunded its $66,000 deposit.

Hopefully, as more organizations and corporations refuse to do business with these two hotels, the sultan will be forced to act, Spillar said.

“That’s our focus,” she said. “Our focus is not the Beverly Hills Hotel. Our focus is the sultan of Brunei and these horrific edicts that must be rescinded.”

David Clohessy, cofounder of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, was scheduled to be honored by the foundation during its annual gala. He said he attended the press conference on behalf of his LGBT son.

“[He] most certainly would never, ever set foot in Brunei, but I can tell you he absolutely will never set foot in a hotel that is owned by the sultan of Brunei,” Clohessy said.

He said the survivors network has been in existence for 25 years, and that the organization knows “an awful lot about violence perpetrated by powerful religious figures.” Clohessy said violence is always wrong, but it is even worse when it is state-sanctioned, justified by religion and impacts people who are already oppressed and vulnerable.

“There is belief, and there is behavior,” he said. “As civilized people, we tolerate all kinds of belief, as well we should. But we can’t tolerate all kinds of behavior when it is violent in nature against people who are already suffering.”

TV personality Jay Leno and his wife, Mavis, were co-chairs of the gala. Leno said the group is simply asking “nice, decent” people to do the right thing.

“We’re just saying, ‘Here’s what’s happening.’ Everybody knows a woman. Everybody knows a gay person. Just don’t let it happen in your neighborhood. That’s all,” he said.

When asked if the boycott will impact hotel workers more than the sultan, Leno said the hope is that people will become more aware.

“We’re asking people who have no stake in this to just take an action,” he said. “That’s all. We’re not asking you to lost your job or stop doing what you’re doing. …Let’s put it in perspective. The people in the Beverly Hills Hotel now are the Clippers. The sultan of Brunei is [Donald] Sterling.”

Andreas Meyer, president of Equality California, said it is “sobering” to be reminded that LGBT individuals in other parts of the world are fighting for their lives — at a time when the U.S. is making great strides.

“We have an opportunity, here in Los Angeles, to say we won’t stand for that,” he said, adding that people and organizations should boycott the Dorchester Collection until Brunei “gets on the right side of history.”

Alan Uphold, a former member of the Human Rights Campaign’s board of directors, said the human rights organization has been sending letters to groups that have planned events at the Beverly Hills Hotel, challenging them to take their business elsewhere.

“Words cannot really adequately express how outraged we are by this,” he said. “It’s disgusting, it’s outrageous, it’s infuriating, and we all need to, as a community and as a world, act together against this atrocious man.”

Actress Frances Fisher, speaking on behalf of Congressional candidate Marianne Williamson, urged the demonstrators to pressure President Barack Obama’s administration to ban Brunei from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement that is a “dangerous path in its own right.”

The boycott was organized by UNITE HERE Local 11, a hospitality workers union that launched www.dumpbhh.org. Its secretary-treasurer, Ada Briceño, said the boycott also stems from workers rights issues at the Hotel Bel-Air.

“The sultan’s actions are despicable,” she said. “The sultan of Brunei is an anti-gay, anti-women, anti-union busting dictator.”

Briceño said the workers at the Hotel Bel-Air had a living wage, healthcare and “a voice on the job” until it closed for renovations in 2009. After the work was complete, the employees were not brought back, she said. Hotel representatives said their employees’ decision to unionize has always “been for them to make.”

“These owners … chose to do with the workers what they did with the furniture — they threw them out,” Briceño said.

She introduced Amanda Escobar, who, with Briceño translating, said she worked at the Hotel Bel-Air for 22 years, and considered it her second home. However, Escobar said she was not rehired after the renovations.

“Since I was laid off, I couldn’t make ends meet,” she said. “I couldn’t find an equal job, and I had to declare bankruptcy because I could not pay my bills. …We must continue to boycott until the sultan changes his ways or sells the hotel.”

In a statement, Christopher Cowdray, CEO of the Dorchester Collection, said he understands the concerns, but urged people not to boycott the hotels, as the action would impact employees, the local community and the collection’s partners and suppliers.

“Today’s global economy needs to be placed in a broader perspective,” he said. “Most of us are not aware of the investors behind the brands that have become an integral part of our everyday life, from the gas we put in our cars, to the clothes we wear, to the way we use social media, and to the hotels we frequent. American companies across the board are funded by foreign investment, including sovereign wealth funds.”

Cowdray said the company has been “deeply touched” by the “tremendous” support it has received from loyal guests and longtime partners during “this challenging time.”

“We will continue to honor their iconic heritage and remain committed to our core values of integrity, equality and diversity,” he added.

The boycott, though, continues to expand. The Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs moved its awards dinner to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the International Women’s Media Foundation pulled its Courage in Journalism Awards and the Motion Picture & Television Fund reportedly changed the venue of its Night Before the Oscars event.

Furthermore, local politicians have jumped on board. City Attorney Mike Feuer announced his support on May 6.

“I will not set foot in either the Hotel Bel-Air or Beverly Hills Hotel until this issues is resolved,” he said. “The Brunei government’s recent adoption of a barbaric penal code cannot stand. I call upon all the people of Los Angeles to join this boycott.”

On Tuesday, the Beverly Hills City Council approved a resolution that calls on the nation of Brunei to divest from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Protest organizers said they would soon ask the Los Angeles City Council to pass a similar motion.