Apple, Inc. asks Arizona governor to veto state gay discrimination bill

Posted:
in iPhone edited March 2014
Apple has joined American Airlines, Marriott hotels and other large firms in requesting Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto controversial bill SB1062 intended to legalize discrimination against gays and lesbians on religious grounds.



Apple confirmed making its request to CNBC Monday evening. The company's request carries some additional weight because it just invested $578 million in forging a partnership with GT Advanced Technology to produce sapphire material for its upcoming products.

Gov. Brewer was happy to announce the news of the deal, which will employ 1,300 construction workers and create 700 high quality jobs. She wrote that Apple's decision to expand into the state was boosted by its "friendly, pro-business climate" and that Apple, as "indisputably one of the world's most innovative companies," will "have an incredibly positive economic impact for Arizona."

The investment has also spurred the construction of new solar and geothermal power projects in the region, due to Apple's goal of operating the new plant entirely using renewable energy from day one.

In addition to criticism backed by large corporations with employment interests in the state, the legislation has also faced political pressure from other sources, including the National Football League, which plans to hold next year's Super Bowl in Arizona.

"Our policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard," the NFL said in a statement. "We are following the issue in Arizona and will continue to do so should the bill be signed into law, but will decline further comment at this time."

Even three of the Republican Arizona senators who voted for the bill have now asked Gov. Brewer to veto it, explaining that they had made a bad decision in a rushed process to pass the new law.

Sen. Bob Worsley, Sen. Steve Pierce and Senate Majority Whip Adam Driggs issued a news conference on Monday stating, "we feel it was a solution in search of a problem," and noting that criticism and controversy of the legislation was "causing our state immeasurable harm."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 294
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Good for Apple (and others). This kind of publicity-stunt hate law can drive talented people and worthy projects away from a state. Bigots cannot be the tiny tail that wags the dog.
  • Reply 2 of 294
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Wow. Even the NFL is against it.
  • Reply 3 of 294

    hi there, 

  • Reply 4 of 294
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member

    Just prevent religious people from using technology (I'm sure it's in the bible somewhere) and watch them whither into the abyss even faster than they already are. 

  • Reply 5 of 294
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member

    It sounds like Brewer was looking for an excuse not to sign it and here it is.

  • Reply 6 of 294
    AppleInsider, I would have preferred that you speak with a less biased voice in your writing. Please just report the facts instead of taking sides.

    That said, I stand with the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, who calls homosexuality an abomination in his holy scriptures.

    Nevertheless, I expect a news site to report facts and not lace it with personal feelings, either toward the side I hold or to the other.
  • Reply 7 of 294

    Damn Russians! Oh wait ;-)

  • Reply 8 of 294
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Politicians will do anything to save face. Rash decision? Yeah right. This bill probably came about when that NFL hopeful came out.
  • Reply 9 of 294
    [QUOTE]
    That said, I stand with the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, who calls homosexuality an abomination in his holy scriptures. [/QUOTE]

    If you had even bothered to read the Bible you'd know that Jesus didn't say One word against homosexuality.
    You could be refering to the Old Testament - but according to that slavery is OK, so maybe you want Arizona to re-introduce that as well? Don't even start me on all the things the Bible calls an abomination: Eating shrimps and other kinds of shell fish, eating pork, letting women talk in congregations... If we were to live by the Bible word-by-word the society would return to the dark ages. No christian wants that (presumably), so why single out being gay?
  • Reply 10 of 294
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Because God has a creepy interest in what goes on in the bedroom of two consenting adults.
  • Reply 11 of 294
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by randallking View Post



    AppleInsider, I would have preferred that you speak with a less biased voice in your writing. Please just report the facts instead of taking sides.



    That said, I stand with the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, who calls homosexuality an abomination in his holy scriptures.



    Nevertheless, I expect a news site to report facts and not lace it with personal feelings, either toward the side I hold or to the other.

     

    There are none so blind as those who will not see.

     

    I suggest you read Scripture carefully.



    It denounces those who reject what is their natural state and act unnaturally in defiance of their god. The 'abomination' as you so quaintly describe it is the rejection of that which God has given. Since most homosexuals are what they are not through any act of rebellion or choice, it would, in actual fact, be an abomination for them to be forced to be anything other than they are. 

     

    To go further, Jesus Christ preached acceptance of people as well as forgiveness and tolerance. He didn't once mention homosexuality, but what he DID say was that we should all take the beams of wood out of our own eyes before we start trying to pick specks of dust out of other people's eyes. He said this most emphatically and he appeared to have been annoyed when he said it: to that extent, you, I and everyone else have no business whatsoever in judging the actions of other people and deciding to withhold services or reject or discriminate. 

     

    This 'religious tolerance' bill, far from protecting people who are Christian is demonstrably and unarguably acting in contravention of the fundamental faith these people profess to believe in. In other words, they're all thundering hypocrites. 

     

    Apple is absolutely correct to object to this bill. Whether it does so for business reasons, political ones or simply out of an abundance of human charity and love, it is absolutely correct.

     

    By the way, I'm a committed Christian myself. I've read the Bible from cover to cover. There is nothing in it to support homophobia, discrimination and intolerance. Jesus Christ would be furious with a lot of the people who profess to speak in His name.

     

    This subject gets me angry.

  • Reply 12 of 294
    0yvind wrote: »
    If you had even bothered to read the Bible you'd know that Jesus didn't say One word against homosexuality.
    You could be refering to the Old Testament - but according to that slavery is OK, so maybe you want Arizona to re-introduce that as well? Don't even start me on all the things the Bible calls an abomination: Eating shrimps and other kinds of shell fish, eating pork, letting women talk in congregations... If we were to live by the Bible word-by-word the society would return to the dark ages. No christian wants that (presumably), so why single out being gay?

    The same Jesus you reference is the eternal Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. He said, "Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58) This same Lord said in Leviticus 18:22, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." Granted, that was a law given to the nation of Israel, but it certainly gives us an understanding of what God thinks of such acts.

    God does not change. Just because he preached forgiveness (not tolerance) while he walked this earth does not mean he preached abiding in sin. Over and over, he and his disciples preached repentance from wickedness. That includes covetousness, adultery, fornication (sexual impurity of any kind, including homosexuality), idolatry.

    The argument that scripture teaches following natural inclinations doesn't hold water. Were that true, we could excuse any sin on that basis. I have a natural attraction to women; my natural tendency doesn't make rampant sexual activity okay, though I have a natural inclination that way. I must do as the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 9:27 and bring my body into subjection. Christ's modern disciples have the responsibility to encourage those with homosexual tendencies to do the same.
  • Reply 13 of 294
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by randallking View Post





    The same Jesus you reference is the eternal Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. He said, "Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58) This same Lord said in Leviticus 18:22, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." Granted, that was a law given to the nation of Israel, but it certainly gives us an understanding of what God thinks of such acts.


    God does not change.

     

    The same Jesus you reference is the eternal Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. He said, "Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58) This same Lord said in Leviticus 11:12, "Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales shall be an abomination unto you." Granted, that was a law given to the nation of Israel, but it certainly gives us an understanding of what God thinks of such acts.

     

    God does not change.

     

    I sure hope you've never eaten shellfish, otherwise it's the eternal fire for you.

  • Reply 14 of 294
    darklite wrote: »
    The same Jesus you reference is the eternal Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. He said, "Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58) This same Lord said in Leviticus 11:12, "Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales shall be an abomination unto you." Granted, that was a law given to the nation of Israel, but it certainly gives us an understanding of what God thinks of such acts.

    God does not change.

    I sure hope you've never eaten shellfish, otherwise it's the eternal fire for you.

    This is humorous.

    Addressing your last point first, God never said in that context in Leviticus that homosexuals or those who eat shellfish would get "eternal fire" as a punishment.

    Further, if we read God's word with a detailed eye we'll notice that he said "it is abomination" to lie with mankind as with womankind. He didn't say of eating shellfish that "it is abomination". He said *to the nation of Israel that "it shall be an abomination unto you". It was an abomination *to them*, not to me as a Gentile. But he never said homosexuality "shall be an abomination to you", speaking of them specifically. He just said "it is abomination" period.

    God doesn't make mistakes, though I do daily.

    All praise be to him.
  • Reply 15 of 294
    misamisa Posts: 827member
    I hope there is a lesson learned here (but the religion trolls will have none of it I'm sure) that pushing a hate law is the quickest way to see business opportunities skip, if not leave the state entirely.

    It's entirely about dollars people. If I get better tax breaks from state X, but state Y has a better educated population base, I'm more likely to find qualified people from state Y. Now if state X throws a hate law on top, that will send the better educated people out of the state so their families aren't broken up. So state X is just creating self-inflicted wounds.

    When such a law is at the state level (eg Russia and various Muslim countries) that is a very uninviting gesture, and throwing away international investment opportunities in doing so.
  • Reply 16 of 294
    This is humorous.

    Addressing your last point first, God never said in that context in Leviticus that homosexuals or those who eat shellfish would get "eternal fire" as a punishment.

    Further, if we read God's word with a detailed eye we'll notice that he said "it is abomination" to lie with mankind as with womankind. He didn't say of eating shellfish that "it is abomination". He said *to the nation of Israel that "it shall be an abomination unto you". It was an abomination *to them*, not to me as a Gentile. But he never said homosexuality "shall be an abomination to you", speaking of them specifically. He just said "it is abomination" period.

    God doesn't make mistakes, though I do daily.

    All praise be to him.

    I don't believe in God any more than I do the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy or Santa. All four have as much basis in reality as the Boogyman.

    This law is hate & discrimination pure and simple.
  • Reply 17 of 294
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post



    Good for Apple (and others). This kind of publicity-stunt hate law can drive talented people and worthy projects away from a state. Bigots cannot be the tiny tail that wags the dog.



    I couldn't agree with you more, discrimination based on sexual orientation is the worst example of bigotry and hatred.

  • Reply 18 of 294
    thedbathedba Posts: 762member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by randallking View Post



    AppleInsider, I would have preferred that you speak with a less biased voice in your writing. Please just report the facts instead of taking sides.



    That said, I stand with the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, who calls homosexuality an abomination in his holy scriptures.



    Nevertheless, I expect a news site to report facts and not lace it with personal feelings, either toward the side I hold or to the other.

    Hah! Religious values. Gotta love them!

     

    Genesis 19:30-32

    Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

  • Reply 19 of 294
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Crowley View Post



    Because God has a creepy interest in what goes on in the bedroom of two consenting adults.

     

    No, because man said God has.

  • Reply 20 of 294
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post





    I don't believe in God any more than I do the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy or Santa. All four have as much basis in reality as the Boogyman.



    This law is hate & discrimination pure and simple.

     

    Actually, this law was written out of fear and ignorance, both of which can lead to hate. And one could disagree with you about your God comparison. Your thinking is quite small, quite basic, quite literal, quite shallow. There was a reason for Einstein to refer to himself as an agnostic pantheist. Don't fool yourself into thinking you understand how things work or what 'reality' is. Nobody knows what reality is, what energy is, what gravity is, how physics works. Your use of the term 'believe' is quite telling. Think about all that for a few years.

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