Over the Thanksgiving weekend an app on the Apple iTunes App Store was pulled. This was the app for the Manhattan Declaration. The Manhattan Declaration is a document in support of human life and marriage signed by close to half million Christians across the spectrum from Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, etc. The app had the text of the declaration along with a short survey section.
A petition was created by Michael Rogers on the liberal activist site change.org. Michael Rogers joined Change.org on November 11, and has created 3 petitions relating to “gay rights” including one against Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Whether Michael Rogers is the same homosexual activist named Michael Rogers best know for outing closeted homosexual politicians. The petition received a total of 7,727 signatures.
Please remove anti-LGBT, anti-women application from iTunes Store
Mr. Jobs:
I am joining with thousands of others in signing this letter to ask you to remove the Marriage Declaration application from the iTunes Store.
…
“Marriage Declaration” application? So Apple removed an app from a group that wasn’t smart enough to get the name of the Manhattan Declaration right?
This is of course the typical tactic to label opposition to same-sex marriage as “hateful and divisive language.” Any opposition however mild is hateful. But I guess they want to have apps that disagree with their worldview to be closeted, just as they want to closet any opinions contrary to to their worldview. Plus the whole idea of wanting to remove something because it was divisive is beyond silly. What subject is not divisive. The things everyone agree on is pretty limited. The problem is that truth is divisive and it will always be so.
Apple’s policy regarding the App store has always been rather nebulous and many apps have been pulled for reasons hard to discern with little or no explanation forthcoming. I certainly applaud Steve Jobs decision to not allow pornography in the app store and there are certainly apps that should not be approved. If someone really did write an app that encouraged violence against homosexuals or any other group, then such an app should never get approved. Previously Mark Fiore a political cartoonist had his app rejected, though later Apple relented. The removal of the Manhattan Declaration app for political reasons if some squeaky wheel activist group complains is a serious problem. Certainly Apple is a left leaning company from the top down, but do they really want to go down the road of censoring Christians?
Turnabout is fair play and there is a petition on the Manhattan Declaration site which already has 27166 signatures – 4 times as many as the change.org one. You can sign it here.
You can also email Steve Jobs directly at stevejobs@apple.com, which I did.
6 comments
I’m not a US citizen, so can’t sign, but the Declaration has my support and prayers, 100%
How silly to think that all Christians hate gays because we Christians don’t believe that the sacriment of marriage should only be between a man and a woman. What other group will they say hate them because they also don’t believe the same. Go Figure! Who next?
Maybe Jesus never really existed! oao, will “IT” boil below? 🙂
Apple knows its market.
Christopher
What do you mean, you’re not a US citizern and so can’t sign? This is an international issue. It affects all Christians everywhere and all Apple users everywhre. I’m British and I’ve signed.
Oops. citizen!!
Apple is a corporate super-citizen now. Money = speech now, so unless you got money your speech is less. Wait until they get net neutrality eliminated in 2011. Blogs like this will be in a ghetto of a second class internet while itunes uses the HOV lane. The sunset of the golden- age of the open internet is getting close.