(Photo above: Tim Cook)
“A wave of legislation, introduced in more than two dozen states, would allow people to discriminate against their neighbors,” Cook writes in the Washington Post. Cook states America’s business community recognized a long time ago that discrimination, in all its forms, is bad for business.
WASHINGTON—The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) celebrated a new op-ed by Apple CEO Tim Cook opposing so-called “religious refusal” legislation in dozens of states. The legislation, chronicled by HRC, is similar to the Indiana law that has caused a national outcry.
In the piece for the Washington Post, Cook calls on his colleagues leading other major companies to join him in this principled stand:
America’s business community recognized a long time ago that discrimination, in all its forms, is bad for business. At Apple, we are in business to empower and enrich our customers’ lives. We strive to do business in a way that is just and fair.
That’s why, on behalf of Apple, I’m standing up to oppose this new wave of legislation — wherever it emerges. I’m writing in the hopes that many more will join this movement. From North Carolina to Nevada, these bills under consideration truly will hurt jobs, growth and the economic vibrancy of parts of the country where a 21st century economy was once welcomed with open arms.
The piece comes days after Cook took to Twitter to condemn Indiana’s S.B. 101—and similar legislation currently pending before the Governor of Arkansas. It also comes at the end of a day of critical mass coverage of the outrage around the Indiana legislation—kicked off this morning by an appearance on ABC’s This Week by Governor Mike Pence that has been roundly panned for the governor’s refusal to answer straightforward questions posed by host George Stephanopoulos.
The op-ed comes at a critical moment. A similar bill faces immediately consideration in Georgia as well, though a special committee hearing scheduled was cancelled in light of the burgeoning national outcry.
The Human Rights Campaign has been sounding the alarm on this legislative session’s wave of anti-LGBT bills—unprecedented in history—since early this year.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
