American Airlines, other Texas employers say anti-LGBTQ bills are bad for business
Fort Worth-based American Airlines and dozens of other large employers are speaking out against a slate of anti-LGBTQ bills making their way through the Texas Legislature.
The businesses said the legislation could impact efforts to attract and retain talent and compete for business. Other signees include Amazon, Apple, Dell Technologies, Facebook, Microsoft and the North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
“We are concerned to see a resurgence of efforts to exclude transgender youth from full participation in their communities, to criminalize or ban best-practice medical care that is proven to save lives, or to exclude LGBTQ people in a variety of other settings, including accessing healthcare, filling prescription, or seeking legal representation,” the Monday open letter reads. “We will continue to oppose any unnecessary, divisive measures that would damage Texas’ reputation and make our customers, our visitors, and our employees and their families feel unwelcome or unsafe.”
Among the bills being considered by lawmakers is Senate Bill 29, which would bar transgender student athletes from competing on a team based on their gender identity, instead requiring they play on a team based on their sex assigned at birth. The measure passed out of the Senate last week and is now in the House for consideration.
Lawmakers are also taking up proposals that would prohibit doctors from performing a range of gender-affirming surgeries and treatments for children.
“These discriminatory bills will tarnish Texas’ welcoming brand and will have a long lasting negative effect to our economy, and more importantly, to our fellow Texans,” said Gary Sanchez, chairman of the North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce during a Monday news conference.
Similar proposals to the ones now in Texas, including more than 50 bills like Senate Bill 29, are being considered in legislatures across the country, according to GLAAD. Texas has in the past faced backlash from businesses for anti-transgender proposals. Notably in July 2017 North Texas business leaders asked Gov. Greg Abbott to drop legislation that would determine where transgender people may use the bathroom.
Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said the bill was necessary to provide a “fair and safe environment for women competitive athletes” as they compete in school sports.
The University Interscholastic League, which governs high school athletics, bases gender off of a student’s birth certificate. UIL does recognize changes to birth certificates, according to a 2017 statement. Perry, laying out the bill on the Senate floor, said birth certificate changes wouldn’t be allowed under the bill.
“Biologically born males often have a significant physical advantages over the female opponents, and the inclusion of biological males in the female sport may deny female athletics the recognition they’ve worked so hard to achieve,” Perry said.
Fort Worth Republican Matt Krause, author of House Bill 1399, which would bar gender-affirming procedures for children, told lawmakers he believes that people should “get to 18 and make those decisions afterward” given the “momentous and important” nature. The legislation passed out of the House Public Health Committee Thursday.
Denying access to gender-affirming health care can lead to negative health outcomes like anxiety, depression and suicidality, said Adri Perez, a transgender Texan who works for the ACLU of Texas.
“Transgender kids have the right to live their lives to the fullest extent possible, and this bill would throw a deadly wrench in that right by stripping them of their health care,” Perez said.
This story was originally published April 19, 2021 at 10:47 AM.
