Members of the South Carolina Legislature:
As business leaders with significant economic interest in South Carolina, we write to you with strong concerns about legislation currently being considered in South Carolina. We stand in firm opposition to any legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
Two bills being considered now in South Carolina would discriminate against transgender young people and pose grave danger to the welcoming and inclusive climate that we need in our state. We strongly oppose these bills.
One bill, H.3477/S.531, would restrict transgender students from playing on school sports teams. A separate bill, H.4047, would prohibit transgender people under the age of 18 from receiving essential medical care by making it a felony for medical professionals to provide transition-related care to transgender minors, punishable with up to 20 years in prison. The bill also essentially requires teachers to “out” transgender students to their parents, potentially before they are ready to share.
It’s clear that these bills are, at their core, discriminatory. Passing either bill would undeniably lead to major challenges for South Carolina, including severe economic hardships and a tarnished image on the national platform.
South Carolina is known for its Southern hospitality, and in recent years we’ve seen the business-friendly climate attracting new investment and job creation. In 2018 and in several previous years, South Carolina ranked as one of Area Development Magazine’s top five states for doing business. As leaders in the South Carolina business community, we have an important obligation to our employees, customers, shareholders, and the communities we serve every day to oppose discriminatory legislation, because we’ve seen time and again the ways that discriminatory legislation jeopardizes a positive, business-friendly climate.
This year, more than 40 major employers published an open letter to lawmakers like you urging you to oppose bills that target LGBTQ people and transgender children in particular. The letter – signed by Apple, AT&T, Capital One, Dow Inc., Google, Hilton, Microsoft, Salesforce, and more – underlines the importance of fairness and opportunity for all of their customers, employees, and employees’ loved ones. We stand with these business voices and add our own voices to speaking out against anti-LGBTQ legislation.
The letter, attached to this memo, reads, “These bills would harm our team members and their families, stripping them of opportunities and making them feel unwelcome and at risk in their own communities. As such, it can be exceedingly difficult for us to recruit the most qualified candidates for jobs in states that pursue such laws, and these measures would place a substantial burden on the families of our employees who already reside in these states. Legislation promoting discrimination directly affects our businesses, whether or not it occurs in the workplace.”
Business leaders and economic development experts have long concluded that discriminatory measures have tangible negative impacts on economic conditions Our neighbors in North Carolina are still feeling the negative impact – both substantive and reputational – from the passage of an anti-transgender bill, House Bill 2. The law made headlines and cost North Carolina more than $600 million in publicly reported lost revenue, making North Carolina a symbol of discrimination and regressive attitudes. From Oklahoma to Texas to Indiana to Arizona, states that have flirted with anti-LGBTQ legislation have risked millions of dollars and have had to mount costly public relations campaigns to undo the damage of mean-spirited bills.
South Carolina can’t afford to make this same mistake.
At the end of the day, everyone should be treated with dignity and respect – and that includes transgender young people. A supermajority of South Carolinians (68%) say they support comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.
We are proud of our companies’ histories of fostering diverse and inclusive workforces. We believe that any anti-LGBTQ legislation will make it challenging for businesses across SC to recruit and retain the best workers, and it will diminish the state’s draw as a destination for tourism, new businesses, and economic activity. Simply put, inequality and discrimination are bad for business.
Anti-LGBTQ legislation has no place in SC. We ask you to stand with us and strongly urge you to reject this bill. Together, we can keep South Carolina open for business.
Sincerely,