Want to Express Hatred Toward Gay People? There's an App for That...
Ever wished your iPhone could be used to foster homophobia and extreme anti-choice views? Well, consider that wish granted, because Apple has approved an iPhone app for a project known as the Manhattan Declaration. Started with the help of convicted felon Chuck Colson, the Manhattan Declaration is a document signed by a number of anti-gay activists pledging to revive the culture wars and stop same-sex marriage.Spelled out in the Manhattan Declaration are a set of principles that boil LGBT people down to little more than deviant cretins. According to the Manhattan Declaration, society should refer to gay relationships as "immoral sexual partnerships," and all people of faith should adopt a belief that "LGBT people erode marriage." Colson, as the Declaration's author, even went so far as to say that gay people will destroy the family unit, and could bring down civilization as we know it.
Nothing like a little extremism to start the morning.
So why would Apple sanction an iPhone app that sends these same messages? That's a question that Jeremy Hooper over at Good As You is wondering. Hooper perused through the Manhattan Declaration's app, and took the survey that the Manhattan Declaration allows iPhone users to take. Not surprisingly, anyone who responds to the survey with answers that favor LGBT equality get told they're wrong and inaccurate.
Among the questions that the app asks users are: (1) Do you believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman?; (2) Do you believe in protecting life from the moment of conception?; (3) Do you support same-sex relationships?; and (4) Do you support the right of choice regarding abortion.
Hooper answered the questions like most pro-equality, pro-choice folks would do, and was promptly told by the Manhattan Declaration: "SURVEY COMPLETE! 0%, You answered 0 out of 4 questions correct. [sic]"
So much for an objective survey, right?
The application also allows users to wade through a series of right-wing talking points that call for the elimination of choice for women, as well as an end to same-sex marriage. And then for kicks, the app also tells users that there's no such thing as separation of church and state.
Apple, for their part, has given the app a rating of 4+. What does that means? According to their rating system, it means that the app contains "no objectionable material." Say what?
Because it sure seems like if you're going to call same-sex relationships "immoral sexual partnerships," or if you're going to accuse gay people of "eroding marriage," or if you say that gay people don't deserve basic civil rights, that should at least fall into the category of "objectionable."
Send Apple a message that applications that support hate and division have no place in the iTunes Store. It's bad business, and all it does is foster a climate of homophobia where people who support LGBT equality are told that they're "immoral" and wrong. That's not an iPhone app. That's bigotry.
Photo credit: The Pug Father
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