65 companies, including Microsoft, EA, Gearbox Software, Dropbox, Google, and Patreon, have signed an open letter in opposition to the anti-trans bill in Texas. This is in response to an order by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on February 22 to have families of transgender children be investigated by child protective services, under what he calls “child abuse.”
What the letter says in response to the anti-trans bill
In the letter penned by the Human Rights Campaign entitled “Discrimination Is Bad for Business”, multiple companies have signed their support in calling upon the governor to reverse the decision:
“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… [The policy] is only one of several efforts discriminating against transgender youth that are advancing across the country.
We call on our public leaders – in Texas and across the country – to abandon efforts to write discrimination into law and policy.”
Jessica Shortall, managing director for Texas Competes (which EA, Microsoft, and Gearbox belong to), said in a statement to Kotaku that many businesses in Texas looking for technical employees have had their offers turned down by candidates who do not wish to relocate to the state. As such, Shortall calls the labor market “tight” in this regard.
In particular, in a summary report by the IGDA (International Game Developers Association), 32 percent of respondents do not identify as straight and 7 percent identified as transgender.
In other news, Elden Ring has easily claimed the top spot for sales in the US, and the US Justice Department is currently investigating those associated with Activision for insider trading.
