Brody's Notes... Apple CEO Steve Jobs Targeted In Anti-Gay iPhone App Conflict

Apple CEO Steve Jobs      Getty Images

By Mark Singer (Washington DC) DEC 17 | The CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs is under fire by the National Organization for Marriage which is angered that Apple removed a controversial pro-heterosexual marriage iPhone app from the iPhone App Store.
NOM has produced a video and in an accompanying press release refers to the Apple co-founder as "Big Brother," portraying Jobs as sinister as North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.

"He's made billions taking on Big Brother," intones the narrator in the the video- which the NOM producers claim that while Apple supports apps with causes, it's only "provided Jobs agrees with them ... like apps with the right to abortion and gay marriage."  The camera pans across shots of apps in the App Store, including "Oh My Gay Stars — Gay Marriage in the US" and a voter guide by Planned Parenthood. 

Also from the video's narration:

"A group representing hundreds of thousands of Christians developed an app to support life and traditional marriage, an approved app ... certified by Apple reviewers to contain no offensive material … what did Jobs do? He killed it and called those causes offensive … What’s happened over the years is that the iconic Steve Jobs has become the ironic Steve Jobs; he’s become Big Brother ... Tell Big Brother you won't be silenced."

NOM is supporting the "Manhattan Declaration" app and movement, which condemns same-sex marriages. The app was yanked from the iPhone App Store after receiving petitions from LGBTQ Equality Rights activists & organizations that found it to be offensive.

The Manhattan Declaration website describes itself as "prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders, and scholars," which released the 4,700-word declaration in the "defense of the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty" in November of 2009. The iPhone app asks four questions of its users, including "Do you believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman?"

"Although Apple has not communicated directly with Manhattan Declaration officials, a public relations representative from Apple told media that the app violated Apple’s developer guidelines by being 'offensive to large groups of people' — despite the fact that Apple originally gave the app a 4+ rating for "no objectionable content,' " said Michelle Farmer, spokeswoman for the group behind the Manhattan Declaration.

Brian Brown, NOM's president, in a news release stated:

"Apple happily allows all kinds of apps for pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage groups, yet when Christians develop an app to support traditional marriage and life, it is called offensive and is pulled from the iTunes store.

What is offensive is that Steve Jobs has targeted Christians for discrimination and religious bigotry, censoring our basic right to speech. Steve Jobs has become Big Brother and we call on Christians across America to contact Jobs to express their outrage at his unfair, discriminatory decision. Apple should immediately restore the Manhattan Declaration app and apologize to all Christians for their actions."

The Manhattan Declaration has resubmitted its app to Apple and one of the LGBTQ Equality Rights group vehemently opposed to it, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is calling upon Apple to not give in:

"The 'Manhattan Declaration' 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,' " GLAAD says on its website.

"We need to let Apple know that no matter how strong the pressure they're hearing from anti-gay activists and no matter how many ads NOM puts out, they made the right decision."