Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, recently put forth directives that are clearly anti-LGBTQI+ in nature. They direct the state's Department of Family and Protective Services to "conduct a prompt and thorough investigation" into families of trans youth helping them receive gender-affirming medical care. The directives go as far as to say that it constitutes as child abuse.
The directives have been condemned by the public, as well as the White House. As reported by PC Gamer, 65 companies have come together and signed a letter to the government, urging it to "abandon anti-LGBTQ+ efforts". The letter is signed by major companies from across various industries, including Electronic Arts, Gearbox, and Microsoft from the video games industry.
"Our companies do business, create jobs, and serve customers in Texas," says the letter, addressed to Governor Abbott. "We are committed to building inclusive environments where our employees can thrive inside and outside of the workplace. For years we have stood to ensure LGBTQ+ people — our employees, customers, and their families — are safe and welcomed in the communities where we do business."
"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," it continues. "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. It is only one of several efforts discriminating against transgender youth that are advancing across the country."
The letter calls on public leaders from Texas, and all over the country, to abandon efforts to create discriminatory laws. Apart from being morally wrong, the letter says that these kinds of directives affect their employees, customers, families, and work.
Other companies who signed the letter include Apple, Ben and Jerry's, Capital One, Cisco, Dropbox, Edelman, Google, H&M, Johnson & Johnson, LinkedIn, Macy's, and Meta, among many others. The companies belong to a number of industries, ranging from video games to pharmaceuticals.