Apple CEO Tim Cook is calling on Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison (R) to veto an anti-gay “religious freedom” bill making its way through the state legislature in the aftermath of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) signing a similar bill into law.
Apple is open for everyone. We are deeply disappointed in Indiana’s new law and calling on Arkansas Gov. to veto the similar #HB1228.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 27, 2015
Cook’s tweet is the latest in a growing list of outraged responses by prominent figures and businesses to Pence signing the bill into law on Thursday. The legislation allows businesses to refuse serving gay people if those businesses have religious objections.
A number of major companies and public figures strongly criticized Pence signing the law. The CEO of Salesforce said Thursday his company was canceling its programs in Indiana over the law. The CEO of the ratings website Yelp said his company wouldn’t expand into states that had laws like Indiana’s.
Legislation similar to Indiana’s religious freedom law is making passed the Arkansas state Senate, the Arkansas Times reported on Friday. The bill now moves to the state House.
The gay rights group The Human Rights Campaign is attempting to fight the Arkansas bill by running an advertisement in the San Jose Mercury News warning that the law would hurt recruiting for technology companies, according to The Washington Post. Hutchison is trying to bring new technology companies to Arkansas.
