‘DISCRIMINATION IS BAD FOR BUSINESS’

60+ Brands Sign Onto Texas Ad Backing Health Care for Trans Kids

Meta, Google, Ikea, REI, Gap Inc., and Macy’s have all joined the campaign, which demands the governor ditch the oppressive new measure.

More than five dozen businesses will denounce Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to probe instances of gender-affirming health care for transgender children as “child abuse” in a digital-and-print ad campaign, according to The New York Times. The campaign, which includes a full-page advertisement in Friday’s edition of the Dallas Morning News, proclaims upfront that “discrimination is bad for business.” Abbott’s order, issued Feb. 22, encompasses medical treatments like puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries, and mandates that teachers and medical workers report families seeking such health care to child protective services. It’s “a page from the playbook that we’ve seen before,” according to a senior vice president with the Human Rights Campaign, which organized the Texas ad campaign. Brands like Meta, Google, Gap Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Ikea, REI, and Macy’s have all signed on to demand that Abbott ditch the oppressive new measure, which “goes against” their corporate values. “It’s not just wrong, it has an impact on our employees, our customers, their families and our work,” the ad said.