Apple Takes a Stand Against Anti-Gay Extremism, Not Against Christianity

The activists behind the Manhattan Declaration are still crowing about Apple's decision to remove their homophobic app from the iTunes store. Two months ago, Apple decided to pull the app -- which called same-sex couples "sexually immoral" and told users who supported same-sex marriage that they were wrong -- after thousands of emails poured into corporate headquarters. In removing the app, Apple made a simple determination: the app was offensive, and didn't meet the company's corporate standards of appropriate material.

In the time since that decision, signers of the Manhattan Declaration -- from Chuck Colson (former Watergate felon and Christian author) to leaders at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) -- have tried to make the case that Apple was censoring Christian voices. NOM even put together a savvy video blasting Apple head honcho Steve Jobs for being a "big brother" and silencing the voices of good Christian folk.

Turns out, of course, that NOM and the folks behind the Manhattan Declaration don't have their facts straight (no pun intended). Because as Good As You notes, the iTunes store is practically a breeding ground for apps that have a Christian focus. In fact, there are nine pages of Christian-related apps available in the iTunes store, and many others that deal with themes like God, the Bible, faith, religion, and more.

Turns out that Apple isn't anti-Christian. They just don't like seeing hatred peddled under the label of Christianity.

Activists behind the Manhattan Declaration made it clear that sometime this month, they'll take their case to Apple's app review board. This is after a retweaked version of the app, which removed the quiz element but still labeled same-sex couples "sexually immoral," failed to fly in late December.

As the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) noted, Apple did the right thing by removing the app the first time, and should be rewarded for standing up for equality, even as the megaphones from the anti-gay right continue to get louder.

"This application calls gay and lesbian couples 'immoral,' it calls the recognition of their relationships 'false and destructive,' and claims that allowing them to be married will lead to 'genuine social harms.' Apple did the right thing in recognizing that these types of hurtful attitudes violate the company's developer guidelines by 'being offensive to large groups of people,'" GLAAD wrote.

Indeed, don't let anyone from the Manhattan Declaration or NOM say that Apple is assaulting Christianity by pulling their app. If anyone is assaulting Christianity, it's the folks that try to use it for their own political agenda to breed discrimination, hatred, and bigotry.

Photo credit: odolphie

posted at change.org by Michael Jones  who is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.