EQTX launches pro-trans ads during Gov. Abbott’s State of the State address
Press Contact: [email protected], (512) 922-4040
Austin, TX – This evening during Governor Abbott’s State of the State address, Equality Texas launched a statewide ad campaign. The 30-second ads feature three trans individuals (Ashton, Gio, Nadya) talking about life in their own words. Between the ads, Governor Abbott threatened to fire all LGBTQ-affirming teachers and threatened to scrub DEI practices from every corner of the state.
The ads, developed by GLAAD and GROUND Media, ran in Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, El Paso, Harlingen, Houston, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, San Angelo, Tyler, Waco, and Wichita Falls.
Twelve minutes into his State of the State address, Governor Abbott committed to ending all DEI practices in K-12 schools and railed against the so-called woke agenda. Abbott reiterated his commitment to exclude trans students from school sports, which he signed into law in 2021. Abbott then insisted that any teachers who affirm or support trans young people “should be fired on the spot.” Studies have shown that an affirming community can reduce suicidal ideation among trans young people, and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation increases suicidal ideation.
In the last legislative session, over 140 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills were filed, many of which explicitly targeted trans people living in the state. Only a few weeks into Texas’s 89th Legislative Session, 99 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been filed.
Since assuming office on January 20, President Trump has issued executive orders that commit to ostracizing trans people, preventing discussion of LGBTQIA+ issues in public schools, eliminating health care for trans youth, ending DEI practices in federal agencies, preventing trans Americans from serving in the armed forces, and dehumanizing trans inmates in federal prisons. Demonstrating his fealty to the new administration, Greg Abbott has more than once parroted Trump’s federal policies, effectively saying “ditto” in legalese.
Items on Governor Abbott’s list of priorities are the only bills allowed to move during the first 60 days of the legislative session.
Statement from Interim CEO, Brad Pritchett:
“Governor Abbott talks a big talk, but he doesn’t know the first thing about freedom. Freedom demands that every Texan have the right to love, think, feel, and act according to their own conscience. Yet, for Abbott, freedom is conditional. If any teacher dares to give hope to young LGBTQ+ students, Abbott will fire them. That’s not freedom.”
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Equality Texas is the largest statewide organization working to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Texans through political action, education, community organizing, and collaboration.