I feel Apple (or any company, for that matter) should not be getting involved in a moral issue. Especially a moral issue related to sex, the most intimate of all the things we do as a species!!! It is not necessary.
Someone here said no one should care about another person's morality. That we should "live and let live". I disagree; that morality is being taught to others as the truth, like an elementary school teacher would do, for example. Now an individual would have to pick and choose where to send their kids to school, fragmenting our society.
Unfortunately, as we live together we will encounter situations where the definition of what is or isn't immoral becomes relevant, especially in the establishment of laws and the like.
I feel that what people do (consensually) in the privacy of their home is their business. But when it is brought into the public eye the it could, and should, be met with scrutiny and discussion.
Homosexual behavior is sexual deviance. Although it is primarily consensual and relatively harmless, it is still deviance. It is not necessary to ascribe to a religious or even moral point of view to realize this. And as is expected, there may be unpleasant consequences to sexual deviance, should they be made public. In the past, the consequences have been severe, even violent, and without compassion, which brought about a push towards tolerance and acceptance that ignores the "condition" that homosexuals are subject to. Let me explain what I mean:
The purpose and design of the sexual organs is reproduction. They generate pleasure to facilitate and encourage procreation and the generation of human beings. When individuals choose to generate pleasure without procreation then they are deviating from the primary purpose of the organs. Obviously, human procreation requires male and female. As such, homosexual behavior is in direct contravention to the purpose and design of the very organs utilized in the act. Individuals with homosexual tendencies have a severe disconnect of the mind and the body: they feel that they we're born in "the wrong body", so to speak. With this in mind, it seems oxymoronic to say that homosexual behavior is "right" or "acceptable" or "normal", when there is an obvious psychological discrepancy in individuals subject to such behavior.
For me this begs the questions: Just because we can do something, should we do it? What other types of sexual deviance are we going to allow to become acceptable? What consequences, psychological or otherwise are they going to bring upon others?
Our country is going through a time of great change, and this debate will go on for a while. But I feel that the issue is not related to civil rights, as determined by race. The issue is sexual preference; the very word indicates choice. It is impossible for a man to change his race. It is possible to not engage in homosexual behavior. The two are now linked in the general public's perception (or at least the media), but they are nowhere near the same thing. And as a society, this issue can, and does, cause great division. Morality is integrated into societal living, but the society has to agree in what is right and wrong. When societies don't agree, war ensues.
"Live and let live" is just too simplistic a concept, especially for this issue. And companies should not be "taking a position" on issues such as this.