McKinney (1080 KRLD)- Over 40 major Texas employers, including American and Southwest Airlines, Uber, Amazon, Bank of America and many Texas Chambers of Commerce have released an open letter. They're calling for a "welcoming Texas" and cautioning against a return to policies that would exclude or harm LGBTQ people. The signers also note support for "the inclusion of LGBTQ people in nondiscrimination laws."
They stand opposed to discriminatory legislation and what they call an unprecedented number of anti-LGBTQ Bills.
"What we're seeing this year in Texas is a culmination of all the anti-LGBTQ policy and rhetoric that has been put forward, session after session over the six years our coalition has been in existence."
Lisa Hermes, president of the McKinney Chamber of Commerce says a bill that would ban transgender athletes from playing on a team that matches their gender identity would do a lot of harm. She says the NCAA board of governors says they'll select sites for championships that do not discriminate against transgender athletes.
She says there are plans to hold huge events in Texas, and now they may not happen. "The men's Final Four in San Antonio in 2025, the women's Final Four in Dallas in 2023, the college football championship in Houston in 2024."
Hermes also discussed how these issues could impact McKinney after the city won a bid to host the NCAA Division II football championship for five years. "Our city could stand to lose at least five million dollars if the passage of discriminatory legislation has the tourism impact we've clearly seen in years past."
David Najjab, Director of Institutional Partnerships with Frisco-based Gearbox Entertainment said "we are risking a return to the bathroom bill days of 2017. Just like the bathroom bill, we are presented with solutions that are looking for problems."
In 2020, a study by Texas economist Dr. Ray Perryman found that in its first biennium, a Texas nondiscrimination law would create $1.3 billion in state and local tax revenues, and in the 2021-2045 period, it would create 700,000 new jobs, more than $1.3 trillion in gross product, and $130 billion in state and local tax revenues. Dr. Perryman found that a welcoming Texas would enjoy increased competitiveness for talent, corporate investment, and tourism, with benefits to every region and industry in the state.
"Our analysis found enormous, untapped economic potential for our state if LGBTQ people were protected from discrimination based on who they are," said Dr. Ray Perryman.
The letter signers urged focus on pressing issues facing the state.
70 big businesses nationwide recently released a separate, national letter, focusing on many of the same issues.
