EA, Gearbox, and Microsoft protest "anti-LGBTQ+ efforts" in Texas

EA, Gearbox, and Microsoft have added their voices to a letter asking governor Greg Abbott to "abandon efforts" to vilify parents helping their transgender child access "medically necessary, age-appropriate healthcare in the state of Texas".

65 companies have signed the letter organised by Human Rights Campaign, which ran in the Dallas Morning News yesterday.

"More than 60 major companies are calling on officials in Texas - and across the country - to abandon discriminatory efforts against trans youth and all LGBTQ+ people," the organisation tweeted. "Discrimination is bad for business, bad for employees, and bad for families."

Here's the letter in full, as spotted by PC Gamer:

"Our companies do business, create jobs, and serve customers in Texas. We are committed to building inclusive environments where our employees can thrive inside and outside of the workplace. For years we have stood to ensure LGBTQ+ people - our employees, customers, and their families - are safe and welcomed in the communities where we do business.

"The recent attempt to criminalise 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.

"We call on our public leaders - in Texas and across the country - to abandon efforts to write discrimination into law and policy," the letter concludes. "It's not just wrong, it has an impact on our employees, our customers, their families, and our work."

Other signatories include Google, IBM, Edelman, Yahoo, and Meta.