Alabama To Vote On Anti-Discrimination, Or ‘Tim Cook’ Bill

The Tim Cook bill is about to be considered in the state of Alabama.

AL.com is reporting that the Alabama legislature is set to vote on a bill written by Rep. Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham) which would make illegal any kind of discrimination against anyone due to sexual orientation. Todd, at one point, went as far as to state she wanted to name the bill after the Apple CEO, who is a native son to Alabama, and who just recently announced that he was gay. Cook would later renounce Alabama for lagging behind in establishing and preserving rights for minorities and the poor.

Cook made those comments at the induction ceremony for the 2014 Alabama Academy of Honor on October 27. He did say that though the state needs to work on these things, he is still loves his home state.

Cook is a native of Robertsdale, Alabama, and an Auburn University alum. Cook announced he is gay in an editorial published by Bloomberg Businessweek last month. Cook is one of the first CEO’s of a major corporation to announce that he or she is gay.

Rep. Todd, who is the only openly gay member of the Alabama legislative branch, wrote what she is calling the bill the Tim Cook Economic Development Act. The bill, if passed, would specifically make it illegal to discriminate against persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgetnder in the workplace. Todd, elected in 2006, states that the federal Civil Rights Act does not protect American citizens based on sexual orientation. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley disagreed, stating that those same persons are indeed protected.

CNET is reporting that once Todd had written the bill, she joked with reporters about naming the bill after Cook. A few days later, Todd received a phone call from “an Apple representative” saying Cook and Apple didn’t want to be involved in any way with what could become a heated political battle, including naming legislation after Cook. Todd had agreed to change the name, but then received a call from Apple’s senior vice president of Legal and Government Affairs and lead General Counsel Bruce Sewell.

“He apologized profusely and said there was an employee that was trying to protect Apple from controversy,” Todd said. “He said, ‘I’m here to assure you we support this 100 percent.'”

Apple said the following in a recent statement.

“Tim was honored to hear that State Rep. Todd wanted to name an anti-discrimination bill after him, and we’re sorry if there was any miscommunication about it. We have a long history of support for LGBT rights and we hope every state will embrace workplace equality for all.”

With the naming part done, Todd said she will push forward with the bill, though she faces an uphill battle presenting the bill in a Republican-controlled legislature.

“People think LGBT employees are protected under federal civil rights laws, but that’s just not the case,” she said.

[Image courtesy Gay Star News]