Now that Cook has come
out, some people and groups who oppose LGBT rights have spoken out about
Cook.
“I’m
proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has
given me,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a Bloomberg Business week
essay, discussing his sexual orientation for the first time in public.
But the
reaction to his announcement has mostly stayed true to the recent environment,
in which high-profile coming-out statements are followed by a relative lack of
controversy — perhaps a sign that LGBT orientations are no longer a viable
wedge issue in the mainstream.
“The
issue may no longer help opponents of gay rights to win elections,” Richard
Socarides wrote in the New Yorker. He then quoted an e-mail from New
York Times congressional reporter Jeremy Peters, who said: “Most Republicans
are adopting what they see as a do-no-harm strategy: Don’t advocate for
same-sex marriage, but don’t do anything to actively oppose it either.”
With
a nod to his famously private nature, Cook wrote: “I don’t consider myself
an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of
others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling
to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels
alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the
trade-off with my own privacy.”
Some
reaction.
Russian
member of Parliament: “Ban him for life.”
Vitaly
Milonov is pretty well-known for his anti-gay activism in Russia. He’s the
author of a St. Petersburg homosexuality ban that inspired a national law.
He fought with Stephen Fry. And in response to Tim Cook’s coming out,
Milonov had things to say.
“What
could he bring us? The Ebola virus, AIDS, gonorrhea? They all have unseemly
ties over there,” the elected official said, according to Buzzfeed’s
translation. Milonov added: “Ban him for life.”
American
Family Association’s Bryan Fischer: Media “lionized” Cook, “demonized” Mozilla
CEO.
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