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In August, a Texas federal judge expanded a ruling that nullified the Biden administration’s protections of LGBTQ+ students, in addition to preemptively blocking any future Title IX regulations that would protect them.
For decades, the state of Texas has had it out against its own. The August decision is just one line in a litany of hateful, discriminatory policies that have been churned out of the state year after year. As we reflect on the past and brace ourselves for the 2025 legislative session, one question stands in the foreground: Why do the same Texas lawmakers who claim to be pro-business persistently find new ways to act against those interests?
Two very prominent pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent years have been Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 15. The former, deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge last year, sought to ban drag shows in Texas. The latter barred trans kids from K-12 and college athletics. Despite 70% of Texans opposing LGBTQ+ discrimination, year after year, we see a barrage of hateful and discriminatory laws brainstormed by lawmakers who seem determined to strip queer people of their dignity.
The effects of these hateful and extremist laws are palpable. Many Texans have already departed from the state and aren’t looking back. GoFundMe pages and real estate websites have been set up to help LGBTQ+ folks “escape.” Many didn’t want to leave. Many have had their roots in Texas since the late 19th century. Meanwhile, those who choose to stay face an increasingly unwelcome environment.
Texas has one of the worst business climates for LGBTQ+ workers in the country. Top talent is being driven away from Texas companies who are helpless against their own state government’s hostility. Employees who don’t feel safe at work don’t stay, and businesses have higher turnover. It costs Texas companies an average of $9,740 to replace a Texas employee, and $510,500 to replace senior executives. These numbers are only rising.
In a state where there are no laws protecting LGBTQ+ workers from discrimination, they risk being laid off for their identities. In one instance, an art teacher was put on leave for simply showing a photo of her wife to her students. The complaining parent also purported that the teacher mentioning that the artist Jasper Johns was the boyfriend of another artist, Robert Rauschenberg, was driving forward a “homosexual agenda.”
The absurdist panic and paranoia aimed at LGBTQ+ people has only worsened. Radicalized school boards are directing school librarians to ransack their shelves for books exploring gender identity or sexual orientation. This isn’t just an affront to the educators who create safe spaces for their students. It’s also detrimental to the queer kids who find comfort, solace and validation in the stories they read about kids who are just like them.
If our state doesn’t stop its campaign of hate against queer Texans of all ages, the Texas Miracle will continue to fade. A 2024 survey of both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ workers showed that almost 77% of respondents are reluctant to apply to jobs in states with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Why would companies move to Texas, where their own extreme policies are a repellent against the best and the brightest?
Texas Stonewall Democrats has seen how homophobia, transphobia, racism and sexism affects all spheres of life — especially when it is baked into the laws that govern our state and institutionalized for years to come. Companies know this is no place to build a business, and over 100 of them including Southwest Airlines and Dell have already called on the state to end its discriminatory policies. We can’t let this go on any longer.
In the upcoming legislative session, our lawmakers must foster the environment of opportunity, innovation and entrepreneurship that built Texas up rather than continue to sully our state’s reputation to the point of no return.
