Texas Association of Business Formally Opposes HB2 Style Bills

If you;re wondering why I and other TBLGQ Texans and our allies stay and fight the right wing powers that be to make our state better, this is just another example why having angelic troublemakers in the Lone Star State matters.

On Friday the influential Texas Association of Business (TAB) Board of Governors overwhelmingly approved a resolution that states according to TAB president Chris Wallace the TAB opposes 'legislation that is seen as discriminatory and would impact workforce recruitment and/or cause a negative economic impact on the state'.

The 4,300 member Texas Association of Business is our statewide chamber of commerce, and has the ear of conservative politicians in the Lone Star State.

They are nervous in the wake of our transphobic Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) statements back in May of wanting to repeat the mistake of the North Carolina GOP to legislatively hate on Texas trans people.  

The TAB is nervous that when the 85th session of the Texas legislature opens in January, Patrick and his GOP colleagues will try to pass an HB2 style bill that will cause the same economic damage to Texas that its blitzkrieged passage in North Carolina has done to their state's economy.

They are trying to prevent that self inflicted Texas GOP legislative idiocy from happening along with Texas Competes, a coalition of 1,100 + Texas businesses and business friendly organizations that are making the case that TBLGQ equality is good for Texas, Texas based businesses and the Texas economy.

North Carolina since the passage of HB2 has suffered an estimated $395 million dollars (and counting) in lost business, conventions, and sporting events, and the NC GOP refuses to take responsibility for their lack of human rights vision.

"We don't want economic fallout here because of legislative action that could be prevented, said Wallace. "We know it's going to be a top issue, and because of that, business has to speak up."

Texas has in 2017 the NCAA women's Final Four scheduled to come to Dallas, the NCAA FBS Championship Game in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, and the 2018 NCAA men's championship game in San Antonio.

All are in jeopardy along with scheduled conventions and other business if Patrick and the Texas GOP persists with their delusional thinking that Texas will not suffer the same fiscal fallout that North Carolina has if they pass anti-trans hate bills or HB2 style legislation.  

The Texas GOP has made hatred of Texas trans people part of their reprehensible 2016 platform, and just as their attempts to legislate bigotry against LGB Texans failed, they will fail against transgender Texans.

And thanks to the Texas Association of Business, Texas Competes and other Texas business leaders who are stepping us to say in a loud and collective voice we don't want the self inflicted economic disaster that is happening in North Carolina to happen in Texas