Big tech and gay rights have evolved together

No state let same-sex couples wed until 2004. The military kept its gays in the closet until 2011. And only last year did most Americans tell Gallup they support marriage equality — just in time for much-anticipated Supreme Court rulings on the matter. But Big Tech and gay rights have had a longer-term relationship — with huge benefits for both. The dramatic increase in acceptance of gay people over the past quarter-century has many causes, including the social impact of thousands of people coming out and pop culture’s attitude-changing embrace. Yet it’s also not a coincidence, experts say, that the meteoric trajectories of the LGBT movement and the tech industry occurred simultaneously.