Kansas bill targeting transgender kids is not just wrong — it’s bad for business, too
We at the Mid-America LGBT Chamber are disheartened by the proposed ban on transgender athletes in girls and women’s school sports the Kansas Legislature passed earlier this month and welcome Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of this bill. As business leaders and investors in our state, we are taking this opportunity to speak out in support of LGBTQ equality.
In addition to the damage this bill would cause to our already struggling pandemic-hit economy, this is harmful for our communities, harmful for families, and enormously harmful for already vulnerable LGBTQ children. This bill also disregards the professional opinions of the medical, scientific and human rights communities, who strongly oppose it.
Legislation like this only serves to further divide Americans.
In the last two decades, dozens of federal courts have affirmed the rights and identities of transgender people. Cognizant of growing medical and scientific consensus, courts have recognized that policies that force people into a binary gender definition determined by birth anatomy fail to reflect the complex realities of gender identity and human biology.
As business leaders, we know that diversity and inclusion are good for business, and that discrimination imposes enormous productivity costs and exerts undue burdens on our communities.
Bills like these are regressive and hurt our efforts as a state in attracting business investment. We agree with the governor’s statement that passing this bill sends a signal that Kansas is more focused on unnecessary and divisive legislation, rather than strategic, pro-growth lawmaking.
The NCAA Board of Governors has clearly received this signal from this and other legislation around the nation. Their response has been clear and unequivocal: “When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected.”
There are other examples of businesses deciding against investing in a state in response to this type of legislation. In 2018, the passage of a so-called “bathroom bill” in North Carolina cost that state billions of dollars in lost investment and thousands of potential jobs, including $400 million in lost convention business as well as PayPal’s decision to locate a large operations center in another state.
The annual LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index published by Out Leadership measures the impact government policies and prevalent attitudes have on the LGBTQ people residing in each state, quantifying the economic imperatives for inclusion and the costs of discrimination.
In 2019, Kansas was ranked 37th in the nation. Last year, it had moved up ten places to 27th, one of the most positive changes in the entire Index. Overturning Kelly’s veto would undo the progress we have made in making our state more attractive for all people to live and work in. Conversely, Arkansas, whose legislature recently overturned a similar veto to pass an anti-trans bill, has moved from 42nd in the nation to 49th.
Earlier this month, four of the largest food companies in the U.S. — Danone North America; Mars, Incorporated; Nestlé USA and Unilever USA — published a joint commentary in USA Today that condemned what they termed “dangerous, discriminatory legislation that serves as an attack on LGBTQ individuals, particularly transgender and nonbinary people. Such laws not only threaten hard-won progress to bring greater awareness, support and equality to transgender Americans, they also threaten the livelihoods and safety of their communities and their families.” The companies forcefully called for the passage of the federal Equality Act now in the Senate.
This should not be a political issue. LGBTQ people should have the same basic protections as are provided to other protected groups under federal law. Making this happen is not only the right thing to do, but it also benefits businesses and our communities.
Fortunately, the state Senate failed to override Gov. Kelly’s veto Monday afternoon by one vote, but supporters vow to bring it back again. We urge lawmakers to focus their energy and attention on working to rebuild our economy and helping us get people back to work.
Suzanne Wheeler is executive director of the Mid-America LGBT Chamber.
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Kansas bill targeting transgender kids is not just wrong — it’s bad for business, too."