At the popular South by Southwest festival (SXSW) over the weekend, singer Lizzo took the mic to condemn Texas officials for their anti-abortion and anti-trans policies.
Recently, Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, told Texans to spy on their neighbors and report anyone they believed might be aiding their child with gender-affirming care. Telling people to spy on and report their neighbors is literally something that was happening in Nazi Germany.
Over the weekend at the festival, Lizzo stood up for civil rights. According to NBC News, Lizzo said, “I’m proud to rep Houston, but I’m not proud to rep Texas politics right now…Trans rights are human rights.”
Lizzo isn’t the only one standing up to Texas. 60 Texas-based companies banded together to sign an open letter to the state that criticizes Texas for its anti-LGBTQ policies. The letter, which was originated by the Human Rights Campain and titled ‘Discrimination is Bad for Business‘, says:
“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. It is only one of several efforts discriminating against transgender youth that are advancing across the country…”
The bill was signed by companies like GAP, PayPal, IKEA, and Apple, as well as numerous tech and gaming giants like Microsoft, EA, and Gearbox.
