Massive opposition to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s “special discrimination session” agenda targeting transgender Texans, including legislation that would bar them from public accommodations in accordance with their gender identity is mounting. This anti-LGBTQ agenda is opposed by the majority of Texans and has been vocally rejected by more than 50 Fortune 500 companies. Estimates show that, if passed, the so-called “bathroom bill” could drain $3.3 billion and 35,600 jobs from the Texas economy.
“With Fortune 500 companies now joining the near universal opposition against efforts to pass a so-called ‘bathroom bill,’ it is time for Governor Greg Abbott to put his discriminatory ‘special discrimination session’ to an end,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “By pushing his anti-LGBTQ agenda, Gov. Abbott is cementing his legacy as turning Texas into a state that puts its own well-being at risk in order to harm its most marginalized citizens.”
Since the start of this year, GLAAD has been on the ground fighting the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ legislation in Texas. GLAAD coordinated with Equality Texas and Texas Freedom Network this spring to hold numerous “Students Against Hate” rallies on college campuses across the state where Texans came together to share their voice and fight back against the anti-LGBTQ bills being perused at the Texas Capitol. Further, GLAAD has held accountable the many anti-LGBTQ groups and activists who have lobbied for this hateful legislation by sending background information to the media on the anti-LGBTQ history of each organization.
GLAAD also teamed up with Equality Texas, The Ally Coalition, and more than 160 leading artists, entertainers, and influencers to release an open letter opposing anti-LGBTQ bills, including the so-called “bathroom bill,” that threatened to harm LGBTQ Texas.
