Mikey Campbell
An avid promoter of civil rights, Apple on Thursday voiced concern over Mississippi's "religious freedom" house bill that was signed into law this week by Governor Phil Bryant, a piece of legislation opponents say is a tool for discrimination against LGBT individuals.
In a statement to The Clarion Ledger, Apple said it was disappointed to see the passage of HB 1523, also known as the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination, which detractors claim protects discriminatory actions against LGBT people.
"We want Mississippians to know that our stores and our company are open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love," an unnamed Apple representative said.
The bill's language protects citizens who deny goods and services to members of the LGBT community on the basis of religious convictions. In particular, there are three religious tenets safeguarded by HB 1523: marriage is reserved to one man and one woman; sexual relations are reserved to married couples; and the definition of "male (man) or female (woman)" refer to a person's "biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth."
Mississippi's edict is the latest in a series of religious freedom bills circulating in the American South. North Carolina and Georgia recently passed LGBT-related laws, while state legislatures in Tennessee and South Carolina are mulling similar bills.
Today's statement echoes Apple's response to the passage of a North Carolina house bill that prohibits transgender people from entering bathrooms, locker rooms and other facilities inconsistent with the gender listed on their birth certificate. Apple CEO Tim Cook later joined more than 80 business leaders in signing an open letter penned by the Human Rights Campaign asking Governor Pat McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the law.
Apple has long positioned itself as a proponent of civil rights, taking on issues from diversity in the workplace to LGBT rights. Along with internal initiatives, like highlighting LGBT apps on the App Store, the company takes an active role in community efforts. In 2014, Apple participated in San Francisco's LGBT Pride Parade as a sanctioned group for the first time, fielding some 5,000 Apple employees including Cook and other executives. The company took part in the parade again last year.
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147 Comments
An open letter is a good gesture, but if they really want to make a statement, Apple and other big companies would threaten to leave the states in question. What better way to say FU than to take away tax revenue. Since most conservative states want the US to be run 'like a business', why not speak the language of business.
Just an observation. I do like the products by Apple. Yeah, I know I'll get the dislikes but corporations need to have one policy throughout the different markets. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/apr/7/paypal-apple-lecture-north-carolina-do-business-in/?page=all#pagebreak
I've always found it quite ironic that Apple and other companies are quick to criticize certain states, and they're quite vocal about it, yet these same companies are completely ok with selling their products in countries where it's actually illegal to be LGBT and they just might execute you for it too. When it comes to those countries, mum's the word, our lips are sealed.
Apparently, money trumps LGBT rights and even LGBT lives. What other reason is there for Apple being in such countries? What other excuse is there?
Speaking as an Apple stock holder, I wouldn't mind one bit if Apple were to completely pull out of certain countries, and not sell any products at all to Saudi Arabia for example. Apple can do without the revenue from a small group of countries that are completely barbaric. I'm not sure if Apple has done it yet, but I even remember reading a while back about how Apple was looking to get into Iran, where you sometimes might find gays hanging from cranes.
I'm not even gay, but I am apparently more for gay rights than Apple is, because no way would I do any business with any of these barbaric countries.
What's next? Is Apple looking to sell devices to ISIS also? I'm sure that there's some revenue to be made there. Their gays simply get thrown from tall buildings.
And here we go, Apple supporting Tim Cook's rainbow-colored view of the world again.
I have an idea... Why doesn't Apple get out of politics and try focusing on closing security holes?
I trust Apple won’t be discriminating against Mississippi (or North Carolina or anywhere else) when choosing locations for their data centers, et. al.?
“OH NO YOU HORRIBLE FUCKING BIGOTS I HATE YOU YOU’RE NOT TOLERANT ENOUGH! WE’LL SHOW YOU! WE’LL JUST LEAVE AND NEVER COME BACK! WE DON’T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS!”antkm1 said:
I was... joking when I wrote my first sentence. I mean... what the fucking hell? Why would I want to believe that leftists actually think this way, and yet here’s an actual example proving it right. Just like the thousands of others we see every day. It gets difficult to want to give these people any actual venue. Three quotes:
Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. The right ways is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character.
– Margaret Chase Smith
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
– Arthur Schopenhauer
Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society.
– Aristotle