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Corporate allies increasingly challenged over LGBTQ support

State Farm, Disney punished for speaking out

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Ben Shapiro launched attacks against Disney for speaking out against the Florida "Don't Say Gay" law.

After years of leveraging their familiar brand names to denounce anti-LGBTQ measures in state legislatures, large corporations are facing increasing challenges to their free speech amid newfound pressure from conservative forces, raising questions about whether they will continue to remain as vocal as they have in the recent past.

From retaliation against State Farm for pledging to donate LGBTQ-themed books to children’s schools, to Florida revoking Disney’s special districting status after speaking out against the “Don’t Say Gay” law recently signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, businesses are encountering significant resistance after pledging support for the LGBTQ community — and the blowback is having an impact that may silence the relatively newfound ally for LGBTQ causes.

Nadine Smith, at the forefront of the fight as executive director of Equality Florida, said businesses “are receiving clear messages from the DeSantis bully pulpit not to interfere with the agenda of censorship and discrimination.”

“Speaking out on behalf of your employees’ children and the respect of your employees’ families is in keeping with the values of diversity and inclusion companies have touted for years to attract and retain top talent,” Smith added. “Failing to walk the walk because the governor and his fellow extremists have threatened you is the political choice.”

One recent case of a business reversing course was State Farm backing down after pledging to donate LGBTQ-themed books in coordination with GenderCool, a youth organization highlighting LGBTQ-themed voices, to schools and libraries. Among the titles of the books to be donated were “A Kids Book About Being Transgender,” “A Kids Book About Being Inclusive,” and “A Kids Book About Being Non-Binary,” which portrayed the experience of different gender identities. The anti-LGBTQ group Consumers’ Research launched a campaign consisting of online blasts, which were boosted by The Daily Wire and Breitbart, with the slogan “Like a Creepy Neighbor…State Farm is There.”

The campaign appeared to have the desired impact. On May 23, State Farm announced it would pull back, declaring “conversations about gender should happen at home with parents” as opposed from GenderCool it “will no longer support that program.” Although State Farm in a later statement insisted it would continue to support the LGBTQ community and inclusivity, the victory for conservative forces was evident.

Another high-profile example of a business speaking out on policy against LGBTQ people and facing blowback was Disney when it spoke out against the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits discussion in schools on LGBTQ matters in grades K-3 . Although Disney initially was reluctant to speak out, it reversed course in response to public pressure and CEO Bob Chapek contacted DeSantis to denounce the measure days before he would sign it.

DeSantis, who’s widely considered a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, publicly denounced the company for embracing “woke” ideology. The Florida Legislature followed up by revoking Disney’s tax status, which had enabled it to operate its own security forces in Disney World in Orlando.

The conservative media also played a role. Skewering Disney for taking a stance against the “Don’t Say Gay” measure, The Daily Wire decried the media conglomerate for its all around approach to LGBTQ visibility, declaring a $100 million investment in the launch of a “DW Kids,” which aims to be a competitor to Disney in youth media. Conservatives also crowed when polling found Disney has suffered a loss in public approval; one poll from the conservative Trafalgar Group found 68 percent of respondents were less likely to do business with Disney as a result of the company “focusing on creating content to expose young children to sexual ideas.”

Disney ended up making neither side happy. The Human Rights Campaign announced it wouldn’t accept a donation of up to $500,000 pledged by Disney at the time it came out against the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Media reports also highlighted stories about LGBTQ employees and allies at Disney storming out in protest over the media company’s delayed action on the Florida measure.

Fabrice Houdart, managing director of the LGBTQ group Out Leadership, acknowledged the “Disney debacle hurt our community,” but said he thinks the overall impact of the incident was no indication of a decrease in strength among LGBTQ people.

“If Bob Chapek was testing the resolve and clout of our community and its allies to ensure corporations take a stance when our human rights are under attack, he got a very clear response,” Houdart said. “The community’s reaction, protests, and media coverage highlighted that the time for companies to play both sides on human rights is over. Corporate power is immense and we will continue to engage corporations to ensure they put their money and lobbying efforts where their mouth is.”

But the growing tension among business leaders is palpable. The Wall Street Journal, in an article titled “Disney’s clash with Florida has CEOs on alert” dated May 2, details the impact retaliation is having on businesses and whether or not they will take a stance on LGBTQ issues or other matters deemed socially divisive, revealing a new trepidation not seen in recent years.

“The fallout from the recent political spat between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has alarmed leaders across the corporate sphere, according to executives and their advisers, and heightened the challenges for chief executive officers navigating charged topics,” the Journal reported.

The current situation stands in stark contrast to years past when businesses were falling over themselves to denounce measures and policies against LGBTQ people. The most recent case was House Bill 2 in North Carolina, which barred citywide LGBTQ non-discrimination ordinances and transgender people from using restrooms on public property consistent with their gender identity. The business outcry and cancellations cost the state an estimated $39.7 million in revenue and is credited for being the reason Gov. Pat McCrory lost re-election in 2016.

The outcry over House Bill 2 echoed a similar situation. In Arizona, the business outcry in 2013 over religious freedom legislation seen to enable discrimination against LGBTQ people led conservative Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the measure. In 2015, Then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence defied opposition to similar religious freedom legislation and signed the measure into law, but after outcry continued to escalate, he signed into a law a “fix” to the legislation that dramatically limited its discriminatory scope.

In each of these cases, businesses were seen as the key ally in pushing back against measures against LGBTQ people because their brands were well known, seen as neutral in outlook and influential with lawmakers counting on political donations to win re-election. As a result, corporate involvement may well have turned the tide in conservative states like Arizona, Indiana, and North Carolina.

Regional differences may account for the different outcomes as LGBTQ advocates in certain states continue to boast strong business support that continues to thwart legislation seen to enable discrimination.

Angela Hale, managing director of the LGBTQ group Texas Competes, made a distinction between Florida, where she said the environment is “toxic” after retaliation against Disney and may lead businesses to “think twice” on LGBTQ issues, and Texas, where she said the business community continues to support LGBTQ people, pointing out more than 1,500 businesses back her organization.

“What I’ve been watching is Ron DeSantis punish Disney, try to punish the Special Olympics, punish the baseball team in his state, for speaking out on issues that are important to those corporate values,” Hale said. “And that’s unfortunate that he is taking such tactics because businesses employ millions of people across the country and have employees in every state, and these employees care about the positions that the company they work at take.”

Asked whether she thinks the retaliation against companies like Disney would have an impact, Hale said it’s “too soon to tell,” but in the meantime businesses are continuing to speak out on a range of issues, including gun control after the recent shooting at a grade school in Uvalde, Texas.

“When we have these horrible anti-LGBT bills, and we’re particularly targeting trans children, and we’re targeting teachers, businesses are going to speak out,” Hale said. “I have found at least what’s going on, even in this climate and in Texas, that because of the seriousness of the situation right now that we are having people brave enough to speak out, and it does take bravery to speak out because there can be consequences to those actions if you’re a regulated industry.”

The new influence of conservative media, which in years past didn’t have the impact or organization to take on LGBTQ rights, also cannot be understated. The Daily Wire, for example, proudly brags about its influence on Facebook and has produced some of the most widely circulated pieces on LGBTQ issues. Ben Shapiro, founder and contributor to The Daily Wire, did not immediately respond to the Blade’s request Wednesday to comment for this article.

Houdart, at the end of the day, said he’s is “not concerned” about businesses withdrawing because they know supporting LGBTQ people is good business, and the LGBTQ movement would continue to harness that power to “engage corporations to ensure they put their money and lobbying efforts where their mouth is.”

“Companies were never supportive out of the goodness of their heart but because it is good business,” Houdart said. “And it remains good business. Employees, consumers, and investors are very clearly demanding that the private sector acquires a social license to operate and LGBTQ+ issues are one of the most straightforward avenues for companies to do so.”

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Congress

McBride, other US lawmakers travel to Denmark

Trump’s demand for Greenland’s annexation overshadowed trip

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U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) is among the U.S. lawmakers who traveled to Denmark over the past weekend. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride is among the 11 members of Congress who traveled to Denmark over the past weekend amid President Donald Trump’s continued calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland.

McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, traveled to Copenhagen, the Danish capital, with U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and Sarah Jacobs (D-Calif.). The lawmakers met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic MP Pipaluk Lynge, among others.

“I’m grateful to Sen. Coons for his leadership in bringing together a bipartisan, bicameral delegation to reaffirm our support in Congress for our NATO ally, Denmark,” said McBride in a press release that detailed the trip. “Delaware understands that our security and prosperity depend on strong partnerships rooted in mutual respect, sovereignty, and self-determination. At a time of growing global instability, this trip could not be more poignant.”

Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark with a population of less than 60,000 people. Trump maintains the U.S. needs to control the mineral-rich island in the Arctic Ocean between Europe and North America because of national security.

The Associated Press notes thousands of people on Saturday in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, protested against Trump. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is among those who have criticized Trump over his suggestion the U.S. would impose tariffs against countries that do not support U.S. annexation of Greenland.  

A poll that Sermitsiaq, a Greenlandic newspaper, and Berlingske, a Danish newspaper, commissioned last January indicates 85 percent do not want Greenland to become part of the U.S. The pro-independence Demokraatit party won parliamentary elections that took place on March 12, 2025.

“At this critical juncture for our countries, our message was clear as members of Congress: we value the U.S.-Denmark partnership, the NATO alliance, and the right of Greenlanders to self-determination,” said McBride on Sunday in a Facebook post that contained pictures of her and her fellow lawmakers meeting with their Danish and Greenlandic counterparts.

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Van Hollen speaks at ‘ICE Out for Good’ protest in D.C.

ICE agent killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7

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U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) speaks at the 'ICE Out for Good' rally in D.C. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is among those who spoke at an “ICE Out for Good” protest that took place outside U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s headquarters in D.C. on Tuesday.

The protest took place six days after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis.

Good left behind her wife and three children.

(Video by Michael K. Lavers)

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Advocates say MTG bill threatens trans youth, families, and doctors

The “Protect Children’s Innocence” Act passed in the House

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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks at a press conference on Sept. 20 for her anti-trans legislation. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has a long history of targeting the transgender community as part of her political agenda. Now, after announcing her resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives, attempting to take away trans rights may be the last thing she does in her official capacity.

The proposed legislation, dubbed “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” is among the most extreme anti-trans measures to move through Congress. It would put doctors in jail for up to 10 years if they provide gender-affirming care to minors — including prescribing hormone replacement therapy to adolescents or puberty blockers to younger children. The bill also aims to halt gender-affirming surgeries for minors, though those procedures are rare.

Greene herself described the bill on X, saying if passed, “it would make it a Class C felony to trans a child under 18.”

According to KFF, a nonpartisan source for health policy research, polling, and journalism, 27 states have enacted policies limiting youth access to gender-affirming care. Roughly half of all trans youth ages 13–17 live in a state with such restrictions, and 24 states impose professional or legal penalties on health care practitioners who provide that care.

Greene has repeatedly introduced the bill since 2021, the year she entered Congress, but it failed to advance. Now, in exchange for her support for the National Defense Authorization Act, the legislation reached the House floor for the first time.

According to the 19th, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first trans member of Congress, rebuked Republicans on the Capitol steps Wednesday for advancing anti-trans legislation while allowing Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire — a move expected to raise health care costs for millions of Americans.

“They would rather have us focus in and debate a misunderstood and vulnerable one percent of the population, instead of focusing in on the fact that they are raiding everyone’s health care,” McBride said. “They are obsessed with trans people … they are consumed with this.”

Polling suggests the public largely opposes criminalizing gender-affirming care.

A recent survey by the Human Rights Campaign and Global Strategy Group found that 73 percent of voters in U.S. House battleground districts oppose laws that would jail doctors or parents for providing transition-related care. Additionally, 77 percent oppose forcing trans people off medically recommended medication. Nearly seven in 10 Americans said politicians are not informed enough to make decisions about medical care for trans youth.

The bill passed the House and now heads to the U.S. Senate for further consideration.

According to reporting by Erin Reed of Erin In The Morning, three Democrats — U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Don Davis of North Carolina — crossed party lines to vote in favor of the felony ban, joining 213 Republicans. A total of 207 Democrats voted against the bill, while three lawmakers from both parties abstained.

Advocates and lawmakers warned the bill is dangerous and unprecedented during a multi-organizational press call Tuesday. Leaders from the Human Rights Campaign and the Trevor Project joined U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Dr. Kenneth Haller, and parents of trans youth to discuss the potential impact of restrictive policies like Greene’s — particularly in contrast to President Donald Trump’s leniency toward certain criminals, with more than 1,500 pardons issued this year.

“Our MAGA GOP government has pardoned drug traffickers. They’ve pardoned people who tried to overthrow the government on January 6, but now they want to put pediatricians and parents into a jail cell for caring for their kids,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “No one asked for Marjorie Taylor Greene or Dan Crenshaw or any politician to be in their doctor’s office, and they should mind their own business.”

Balint, co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, questioned why medical decisions are being made by lawmakers with no clinical expertise.

“Parents and doctors already have to worry about state laws banning care for their kids, and this bill would introduce the risk of federal criminal prosecution,” Balint said. “We’re talking about jail time. We’re talking about locking people up for basic medical care, care that is evidence-based, age-appropriate and life-saving.”

“These are decisions that should be made by doctors and parents and those kids that need this gender-affirming care, not certainly by Marjorie Taylor Greene.”

Haller, an emeritus professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University School of Medicine, described the legislation as rooted in ideology rather than medicine.

“It is not science, it is just blind ideology,” Haller said.

“The doctor tells you that as parents, as well as the doctor themselves, could be convicted of a felony and be sentenced up to 10 years in prison just for pursuing a course of action that will give your child their only chance for a happy and healthy future,” he added. “It is not in the state’s best interests, and certainly not in the interests of us, the citizens of this country, to interfere with medical decisions that people make about their own bodies and their own lives.”

Haller’s sentiment is echoed by doctors across the country.

The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest organization that represents doctors across the country in various parts of medicine has a longstanding support for gender-affirming care.

“The AMA supports public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender dysphoria and opposes the denial of health insurance based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” their website reads.

Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, senior vice president of public engagement campaigns at the Trevor Project, agreed.

“In Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill [it] even goes so far as to criminalize and throw a parent in jail for this,” Heng-Lehtinen said. “Medical decisions should be between patients, families, and their doctors.”

Rachel Gonzalez, a parent of a transgender teen and LGBTQ advocate, said the bill would harm families trying to act in their children’s best interests.

“No politician should be in any doctor’s office or in our living room making private health care decisions — especially not Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Gonzalez said. “My daughter and no trans youth should ever be used as a political pawn.”

Other LGBTQ rights activists also condemned the legislation.

Tyler Hack, executive director of the Christopher Street Project, called the bill “an abominable attack on the transgender community.”

“Marjorie Taylor Greene’s last-ditch effort to bring her 3-times failed bill to a vote is an abominable attack on the transgender community and further cements a Congressional career defined by hate and bigotry,” they said. “We are counting down the days until she’s off Capitol Hill — but as the bill goes to the floor this week, our leaders must stand up one last time to her BS and protect the safety of queer kids and medical providers. Full stop.”

Hack added that “healthcare is a right, not a privilege” in the U.S., and this attack on trans healthcare is an attack on queer rights altogether. 

“Marjorie Taylor Greene has no place in deciding what care is necessary,” Hack added. “This is another attempt to legislate trans and queer people out of existence while peddling an agenda rooted in pseudoscience and extremism.”

U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, also denounced the legislation.

“This bill is the most extreme anti-transgender legislation to ever pass through the House of Representatives and a direct attack on the rights of parents to work with their children and their doctors to provide them with the medical care they need,” Takano said. “This bill is beyond cruel and its passage will forever be a stain on the institution of the United States Congress.”

The bill is unlikely to advance in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to pass.

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