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Tim Cook: "I'm Proud To Be Gay"
An anonymous reader writes Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly come out as gay. While he never hid his sexuality from friends, family, and close co-workers, Cook decided it was time to make it publicly known in the hopes that the information will help others who don't feel comfortable to do so. He said, "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."
Cook added that while the U.S. has made progress in recent years toward marriage equality, there is still work to be done. "[T]here are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation. There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation."
Cook added that while the U.S. has made progress in recent years toward marriage equality, there is still work to be done. "[T]here are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation. There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation."
Valleywag, Jan. 2011: Meet Apple's New Boss, The Most Powerful Gay Man in Silicon Valley
Saying, "I went to the beach with my husband this weekend" in casual conversation is quite different than having a press conference to say, "I'm heterosexual!" And yes, talking about your sexual orientation is talking about your sex life.
According to Tim Cook, a gay person who is "struggling to come to terms with who he or she is" or who feels alone.
being homosexual is indeed a behaviour that happens quite naturally in a small minority of people.
As far as we understand it, so is being a pedophile. But I think you are confused. Pedophilia is a medical condition. Child molestation is a crime. They are not the same thing. You can be a pedophile without being a child molester. Pedophilia means you are sexually attracted to per-pubescent children. It does NOT necessarily mean that you act on that attraction. You can also be a child molester without being a pedophile, say, by having sex with a 16 year old (legally, but not biologically, a child).
In the UK homosexual sex was a crime punishable by imprisonment up until the 1960s. Even those who refrained from sex were often forced to take medication or undergo "procedures" to "correct" their behaviour.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC