Texas governor Greg Abbott has been pushing for more and more anti-transgender directives in Texas, now big companies are speaking out against it.
There has been an outcry against human rights in Texas as governor Greg Abbott tries to push a directive which directly targets LGBTQI+ kids and their families. With outcry against the Florida ‘don’t say gay’ bill much of the attention towards LGBTQI+ right has shivted to the sunshine state.
Now, Electronic Arts, Gearbox and Microsoft, along with other companies have signed a letter calling on Texas governor Greg Abbott to abandoning the transphobic directive he’s trying to push for in Texas.
What Are EA, Gearbox and Co. Fighting Against?
If someone is not familiar with American politics, than this could be news to you. What is actually happening in Texas that it warrants companies to sign a letter stating that the governor should abandon his politics?
Greg Abbott is pushing for an order that would let parents be investigated as child abusers when letting their transgender kids go through gender-affirming medical treatment. This order would put the lives of thousands of transgender teenagers in danger since they won’t be able to get the care they need.
Electronic Arts, Gearbox, IBM, Google, Microsoft and other companies all signed a letter, which appeared in the Dallas Morning News, calling on the state to abandon the directive which has already started to investigate multiple parents on claims of child abuse. The letter was organized by Human Rights Campaign, which campaigns for equal right for LGBTQI+ people.
More than 60 major companies are calling on officials in Texas - and across the country - to abandon discriminatory efforts against trans youth and all LGBTQ+ people. Discrimination is bad for business, bad for employees and bad for families. pic.twitter.com/5sgDTmY8cF
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) March 11, 2022
The recent attempt to criminalize a parent for helping their transgender child access medically necessary, age-appropriate healthcare in the state of Texas goes against the values of our companies. [...] This policy creates fear for employees and their families, especially those with transgender children, who might now be faced with choosing to provide the best possible medical care for their children but risk having those children removed by child protective services for doing so.
This isn’t the first time Borderlands developer Gearbox has spoken out against anti trans laws in Texas. In 2021 director of institutional partnerships David Najjab spoke before the Texas House of Representatives against a bill which would target young trans kids and force them to compete in sports based on their assigned sex at birth.
Not only that, but in 2017, CEO Randy Pitchford has also criticized a proposed ‘bathroom bill’ in Texas that would restrict public restroom use for trans people. These incidents have even caused the company to threaten relocation.
Will the letter make a difference? It might or it might not, but at least it is bringing attention to the issue at hand. It seems like politicians in Texas do not thin that transgender people have rights, nor are they allowed to feel safe. Hopefully, this issue gains more media attention, because transgender rights are human rights, no questions asked.