AppleInsider Staff
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook took to Twitter on Friday to again express his support for the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, a proposed bill that would make it illegal for companies to discriminate in hiring based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
The act, dubbed ENDA, has been presented to Congress since 1994, but has yet to pass into law. Cook said on Friday that he believes the U.S. House of Representatives should mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, signed into law by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, by finally passing ENDA after 20 years.
Tagged in Cook's post were Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor, and Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer.
In a separate post, Cook quoted the iconic protest song of the American Civil Rights Movement, "We Shall Overcome." He also shared a picture of Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act while Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. looked on.
"Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act," Cook wrote. "Much done but much left to do."
Cook's support of ENDA has been well publicized before, as the CEO penned an editorial in The Wall Street Journal last November urging U.S. senators to pass the act — which it did, in a 64 to 32 vote. The bill has not yet gone up for a vote in the House.
ENDA would prohibit most employers from discriminating in hiring based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition to official passage through the U.S. Senate, the bill has also been given public support by President Barack Obama.
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247 Comments
Clearly won't happen while Republicans control the House.
This should be an interesting thread
I am a long time Apple customer, 1978 Apple II. It troubles me anytime a CEO uses his position to push his own agenda.
I disagree with Tim Cook.
I don't have any problems with hiring a gay person of course, if they were the best qualified for the job, that is what's important. But I would most likely have to pass on hiring any sexually confused people. Those people should go work for FB, since FB has a gazillion different choices for gender. What a joke. And no, you don't get to choose that you are a female or something else, if you actually have male sexual organs. You are what you are. If somebody goes around and really wishes that they were a hippopotamus, that doesn't make it so, no matter how much they wish that they were. People are what they are. There are probably thousands of lunatics in various mental asylums that think that they're Napoleon.
I recently read about a transgender athlete suing, because they weren't allowed to compete on the female team! What a damn joke! The confused transgender person is obviously perpetrating a scam.
I am a long time Apple customer, 1978 Apple II.
It troubles me anytime a CEO uses his position to push his own agenda.
Equal rights aren't an "agenda" and it shouldn't be considered "politics" either. And just for the record, equal rights should NEVER be put up for a vote.
It's time to pass laws like ENDA to ensure equal rights for all.