Anti-LGBTQI legislation opposed by 40 US companies   

By Malgosia Kwasniewska

Forty companies in the United States have openly signed a letter, opposing twelve pieces of anti-trans legislation across several states, from Idaho to Alabama.

They have done so in conjunction with the Human Rights Campaign, an American lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights and advocacy organization.

The letter states that the bills, if passed, would harm LGBTQI employees as well as the companies that already do, or seek to employ them.

“These bills would harm our team members and their families, stripping them of opportunities and making them feel unwelcome and at risk in their own communities,” it said in the letter.

“As such, it can be exceedingly difficult for us to recruit the most qualified candidates for jobs in states that pursue such laws, and these measures can place substantial burdens on the families of our employees who already reside in these states.”

Two of the largest companies which have signed the letter, Amazon and Lush Cosmetics, are in Alabama, where the Senate passed the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act last week. If the bill passes the state House or Representatives, the act will make it a crime for doctors to prescribe puberty-blockers or hormones to minors.

Virginia is the twentieth state to have passed this form of legislation.

This occurred in spite of consistent protests against it by the Human Rights Campaign.

All of the businesses which have signed the letter have additionally cautioned that bills promoting discrimination will also influence their decisions about where they invest and grow.

In Idaho, there are two bills scheduled for State Senate votes this week. One would prohibit transgender people from changing their birth certificates to match their gender identities; and transgender athletes would be banned from playing with sports teams that do not correspond to their sex assigned at birth.

The conservative legislative push has occurred with disregard of parental rights and where the line is drawn around government intervention.

As well as the impact on employees, there would also be adverse effects upon their customers, and the economy.  The letter goes further to also say that, not only do these laws cause harm to employees and their families, but they also have a negative effect on the businesses themselves.

“America’s business community has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws have a negative effect on our employees, our customers, our competitiveness, and state and national economies.”