Governor Greg Abbott is under fire after more than 60 major corporations Friday signed on to a full-page ad in the Dallas Morning News accusing the Texas Republican of engaging in anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Abbott has ordered state agencies to investigate and prosecute anyone – including parents – involved in providing or enabling medically-necessary medical care for transgender youth and teens, using the false claim of “child abuse,” a claim some legal experts say is unlawful and medical experts have condemned.
Abbott is running for re-election against popular Democrat, former U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke, and has been accused of using anti-LGBTQ hate to appeal to parts of his base.
“Businesses Call on Governor to Abandon Anti-LGBTQ+ Efforts,” the ad reads, as reported by The Verge. Among the companies signing onto the ad are Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, IBM, PayPal, Johnson & Johnson, Ikea, and Gap.
“Discrimination is bad for business,” the ad says. “Our companies do business, create jobs, and serve customers in Texas. We are committed to building inclusive environments where our employees can thrive inside and outside of the workplace.”
“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.”
“We call on our public leaders – in Texas and across the country – to abandon efforts to write discrimination into law and policy. It’s not just wrong, it has an impact on our employees, our customers, their families, and our work.”