A former State House speaker, Love opposes same-sex marriage

Feb 18, 2015 10:28 GMT  ·  By

Soon after hiring Julius Kenneth Love to work as a lobbyist, Apple terminated its contract with the former politician after learning of his views against the LGBT community.

“Jay Love does not work for Apple nor does he do any lobbying on our behalf,” Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet told BuzzFeed in an email on Monday.

Love indeed worked with Apple

Huguet’s statement is ambiguous. One could assume from the terse comment that Apple doesn’t do lobbying at all. However, a lobbyist liaison at the Alabama Ethics Commission by the name of Vicki Manning confirmed that Love was registered to represent Apple at a lobbyist. Love himself declined to comment on the news.

Alabama’s only out state lawmaker, Patricia Todd, chimed in to confirm the news: “I have no comment at this time, but they [Apple] have terminated their contract with Jay Love.” Todd plans to introduce a bill named after Tim Cook supporting LGBT rights. Apple initially resisted the idea of having the bill named after its CEO, but eventually relented, according to the report.

Apple is a huge LGBT rights supporter

Under Tim Cook’s leadership, Apple may not tolerate obnoxious personalities, but it puts human rights first. Whether you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, black, white, or any other skin tone, it doesn’t make a difference if you’re an asset for the company.

Tim Cook said this, and much more, in a widely publicized essay for Bloomberg BusinessWeek last year, when he also openly admitted to being gay (something that had been known but hadn’t been made official).

With Cook at its helm, Apple has more openly advocated for charity and has ramped up its environmental initiatives. For example, in 2013, Cook personally hired Lisa Jackson, formerly the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to assist the Cupertino giant with the development of its renewable energy projects.