Apple confirmed in a statement to the Human Rights Campaign that it is officially placing its considerable weight behind new LGBT anti-discrimination legislation currently being proposed in the United States Congress.
HRC, via 9to5Mac:
At Apple we believe in equal treatment for everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. We fully support the expansion of legal protections as a matter of basic human dignity.
The bill would expand federal protections in the workplace to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered Americans in all 50 states. Apple’s support for the bill falls in line with actions by the company’s CEO Tim Cook in support of such legislation, and with the company’s own policies.
Cook has publicly requested Congress to pass the Employment Nondiscrimination Act for each of the last two years. Cook publicly acknowledged he is gay in an essay published last fall.
Apple as a company has long supported LGBT rights issues, publicly opposing unpopular anti-gay legislation in Arizona and Indiana, as well as encouraging its employees to participate in San Francisco’s annual PRIDE parades over the years.
The Equality act would extend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ensure LGBT Americans cannot legally face discrimination when it comes to employment, housing, and other issues in 31 states that currently do not enforce such protections.
