Does Apple support gay gun rights?

In yesterday’s post I covered how Apple jumped the shark by removing the handgun emoji. That got me thinking about how Apple has been supportive of gay rights, but has been silent on gay gun rights.

As a gay guy I carry a firearm with me for personal protection. My preferred firearm is a Smith and Wesson M&P Compact in 9mm, with a Crimson Trace laser grip. The M&P Compact has been a great tool for me, and I feel much safer with it than without it.

The recent attack on a gay nightclub in Florida underscores the dangers to LGBTQ people from violent homophobes. In the Florida murders it was an Islamic homophobe that did the killing, but it’s not just terrorists that cause such mayhem.

So being able to carry a firearm for personal protection is an important issue for me. I don’t believe in or rely on “hate crimes” laws to protect me, Smith and Wesson does a far better job in that regard. When a violent homophobe attacks, a pistol in my hand is worth far more than a million “hate crimes” laws.

Apple and gay gun rights

Apple has been quite supportive of gay rights over the years, and I think many of us appreciate the company’s efforts. However, given the company’s apparent antipathy toward guns, I am forced to wonder if Apple is as supportive of gay gun rights.

For example, organizations like the Pink Pistols work hard to promote gun rights and encourage LGBTQ people to learn how to use firearms legally and safely. The Pink Pistols even have a list of LGBTQ friendly firearms trainers, a utility manual, and a discussion forum on their site.

Wouldn’t it be great if Apple offered to be a sponsor of the Pink Pistols? I think it would go a long way toward proving Apple’s commitment to real diversity on the gun issue, and it would help make up for the silly removal of the handgun emoji in the recent iOS 10 beta.

It would also underscore the company’s commitment to LGBTQ rights in a whole new way. Tim Cook has been an eloquent spokesman for gay rights, but imagine the attention he could bring to the Pink Pistols and their mission to help gays protect themselves from violent homophobes.

It would be great if Tim Cook contacted the Pink Pistols and arranged to visit a local gun range and do some shooting. A video of Apple’s gay CEO shooting a pistol at the range would help encourage other gays to learn how to defend themselves with firearms.

Along with the Pink Pistols, outspoken gay journalist Milo Yiannopoulos has been very vocal about supporting gun rights for gays. He’s even created a line of shirts designed to promote gay gun rights.

Here’s a video of Milo discussing the dangers of gun free zones in America:

Apple has already involved itself in the gun debate

Some of you might think that my commentary above is a bit off the wall, and that Apple has no business promoting gay gun rights. But the company has already involved itself in the gun debate and there’s no going back now.

So I think the folks running Apple have to ask themselves this question: Does Apple support all gay rights or just the ones the company agrees with?

Given Apple’s cultural leanings, it’s a very uncomfortable question for the company to have to answer. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that Apple won’t touch gay gun rights with a 10-foot pole. It goes against the left-wing, politically correct politics that the company has been steeped in for many years.

But I’ll withhold final judgement for now. So I’ll end this post with a simple question for Apple CEO Tim Cook:

Does Apple support gay gun rights?

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