Apple tonight spoke out on U.S. President Donald Trump's move to rescind Obama administration protections for transgender students, providing a statement to Axios. The protections had allowed transgender students to use bathrooms that corresponded to their gender identity.
The Cupertino company reiterated its commitment to equality, saying that everyone deserves a chance to be free from stigma and discrimination.
"Apple believes everyone deserves a chance to thrive in an environment free from stigma and discrimination. We support efforts toward greater acceptance, not less, and we strongly believe that transgender students should be treated as equals. We disagree with any effort to limit or rescind their rights and protections."
This isn't the first time Apple has spoken out against the actions of the Trump administration. In late January, CEO Tim Cook said that the immigration executive order was not a policy that Apple supported. Apple made its HR, legal and security teams available to employees who were affected and eventually joined nearly 100 firms filing a legal brief against the order.
Under Cook, Apple has had a history of speaking out in favor of equality. In March 2015, Cook spoke out against Indiana's controversial "Religious Freedom" law, which allowed business owners to turn away LGBTQ customers by citing "religious freedom." Cook also called on Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson to veto the bill.
Additionally, in 2013 both Cook and Apple came out in support of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act and released a statement of support after the Supreme Court gay marriage ruling.
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Top Rated Comments
If Trump can comment on Apple products (which he did) then I see no reason why Apple cannot do the reverse.
*Alright, so some of the Macs beg to differ, but that's another story...
Apple obviously perceives that is in their best interest to make their position known. Silence could be interpreted as tacit agreement. I think this is good for them for both recruiting a diverse workforce (what if a talented engineer who happened to be trans felt uncomfortable applying?) as well as ensuring socially-conscious buyers know what kind of organization their money is supporting.
I think most people's disagreement here can be boiled down to the fact that trans people freak them out and that they therefore don't want companies speaking up about it. (I had a couple friends from college who ended up being trans, and I think they were a great help for me in understanding these issues. I wish everyone could experience that, but everyone can at least read about it or have an open mind.) Much like gay rights, this shouldn't even be a political issue. Maybe Apple will stop speaking up about it when people's rights are no longer politicized, but I suspect you'll still be disappointed as, being a business, they probably have opinions on economic issues too, which probably going to also be considered political issues for the rest of time. :)
In this moment they're being exactly the company I want them to be.