Today the US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, said that the Constitution requires that same-sex couple be allowed to marry. The decision effectively makes gay marriage legal nationwide, as states can no longer reserve the right to marry only for heterosexual couples.
And the tech world’s most prominent gay CEO, Tim Cook, has spoken out.
In a series of tweets, Tim Cook said that “Today marks a victory for equality, perseverance and love.”
Today marks a victory for equality, perseverance and love.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 26, 2015
He also managed to comment on the ruling with a tip to late Apple CEO Steve Jobs:
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 26, 2015
Tim Cook publicly revealed that he is gay last October. In an op-ed in Bloomberg, Cook said he is “proud to be gay” and that it is “among the greatest gifts God has given me.”
“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,” he said.
“For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me. Of course, I’ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.”
Apple was one of many tech companies which filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court earlier this year, urging it to rule in favor of same-sex marriage. It argued that bans on same-sex marriage are bad for business.
But for Tim Cook, it’s clearly more than just business.