Google Pulls 'Is My Son Gay' App
Surrendering to widespread outrage, Google has pulled the Android app "Is My Son Gay?" from its online store, single-handedly making the world safe for gay teens. Yay censorship!
Now that the dumb, homophobic app can't be purchased in the Android marketplace, gay rights group AllOut.Org is taking credit, writing in an emailed statement that "we are pleased that Google developers have heard the voice of the LGBT community and pulled the app." Also outspoken against "Is My Son Gay?" were the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educational Network and Perez Hilton and nearly everyone else who became aware of the app and wrote something on it. (It turns out, oddly enough, that the author of the app is himself openly gay.)
Being revolted is one thing; supporting a ban is something else. If digital store censorship is really an acceptable tool for achieving social progress, maybe the next step should be banning arguably homophobic movies like Bruno and The Lion King from iTunes, Netflix, etc. Then after that maybe any newspaper with an arguably homophobic article in it could also be banned. As long as we squelch expression we find disgusting in the name of protecting others, what could possibly go wrong?