‘No state is perfect’: How ex-Californians are responding to ‘Don’t Say Gay’ and other LGBTQ restrictions – San Francisco Chronicle
A slew of controversial bills in Texas and Florida that opponents say discriminate against LGBTQ people and infringe on abortion rights is drawing a mixed response from some of the states’ biggest employers: Major tech companies and entrepreneurs, many of which moved their headquarters out of California to the states.
Despite the ostensibly liberal ethos of Silicon Valley, some companies that have relocated or deepened their ties in each state have stayed mum on whether they support the controversial legislation or not. Others, like Founders Fund venture capitalist Keith Rabois, who have touted the business-friendly aspects of Florida say it doesn’t make them reconsider their moves, while some tech transplants feel motivated to become more politically active in their adopted states.
Tesla and Charles Schwab, which moved Bay Area headquarters to Texas in recent years, didn’t respond to requests for comment on the state’s bill restricting abortions and Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to investigate gender-affirming care of youths as child abuse, which has been blocked by a judge until a trial set for July.
Austin, Texas, became a hot spot for Bay Area tech companies to move to or expand into during the pandemic. Yet, many of those companies refused to comment on the state’s high profile anti-equality bills.
Ilana Panich-Linsman/Special to The Chronicle
Tech giants Google, Apple and Facebook parent Meta have major expansion efforts in Austin, Texas, and signed a public letter denouncing the order. They were also among more than 200 businesses that signed a letter opposing anti-LGBTQ legislation in all states. Two recent Silicon Valley transplants also signed the letter: Austin-headquartered Oracle and Houston-headquartered Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
No comment: Tesla, Charles Schwab, Fast, Verkada, Opsway, TrustLaye
Oppose anti-LGBTQ bills: Disney, Apple, Google, Meta, Oracle, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Adobe, Affirm, Airbnb, Box, Dropbox, Gilead, HP Inc., Intel, Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, Microsoft, Amazon, PayPal, Salesforce, SAP, Splunk, Twitter, Uber, Wells Fargo, Yahoo, Yelp, Zendesk, Zoom, Zynga
Google and Meta declined to comment further, while Apple and Oracle didn’t respond to a request for additional comment.
“As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am deeply concerned about laws being enacted across the country, particularly those focused on our vulnerable youth. I stand with them and the families, loved ones, and allies who support them,” Apple CEO Tim Cook, a gay man, tweeted on March 10.
Politico reported that Apple has lobbied against anti-LGBTQ legislation and took a lead role in calling for other companies to sign a letter opposing the Abbott order.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which was spun out of Palo Alto firm Hewlett-Packard in 2015, “has publicly advocated for unconditional inclusion for the LGBTQ community for many years, and we oppose efforts to discriminate against the transgender community in any form,” said Adam Bauer, a company spokesperson. The consumer-electronics-focused HP Inc., once part of the same company, also signed the letter.
On another hot-button issue, Hewlett Packard Enterprise hasn’t taken a position.
“We’ve not taken a position as a company on the issue of abortion, in Texas or anywhere else. HPE does cover abortion through its medical plans, including out-of-state care and certain costs associated with lodging and travel if it’s necessary to go out of state for care,” Bauer said.
Last month, some employees at the Walt Disney Co.’s massive Orlando theme park protested Florida legislation that bars sexual orientation or gender identity topics from being taught between kindergarten and third grade. Opponents have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
After weeks of silence, Disney later said it would seek to repeal the bill and that it never should have passed, signing onto multiple open letters along with a long list of other companies that oppose the measures.
In response, Republican lawmakers in Florida are now threatening to repeal the 1967 law that empowers Disney to essentially self-govern at its theme park. Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Disney “crossed the line” and “has lost any moral authority to tell you what to do.”
The entertainment juggernaut that was founded in California continues to deepen its investments in Florida. Last year it was moving about 2,000 corporate jobs from its California headquarters to the Orlando area. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently urged the company giant to rethink its Florida expansion.
Fewer California companies have relocated their headquarters to Florida, but Miami has become a much-hyped pandemic-era destination for tech entrepreneurs, a trend spurred on by its tech- and business-friendly mayor.
That movement started in 2020, before the Florida Legislature passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill; the controversial “Stop Woke Act,” which bars education around critical race theory; and banning most abortions after 15 weeks.
While that kind of legislation may run counter to the socially liberal image that Silicon Valley has fostered over the years, it hasn’t caused any prominent companies or founders to visibly reverse course away from Florida.
Lucy Guo co-founded Scale AI in San Francisco and now runs Backend Capital from Miami, where she has become a booster for tech moving to the city. She said that while she doesn’t agree with some of the recent legislation, it hasn’t directly affected her life.
“As a bisexual woman I’m not happy about it, but no state is perfect. The pros outweigh the cons for me, and I’ve never felt discriminated [against] in Miami,” Guo said in an email. “In fact, it’s the most welcoming city I’ve lived in. I’ve never felt so comfortable with stating my opinions and being open about my sexuality. People here are open minded and don’t see things as black and white.”
Instead of abandoning their newly adopted states altogether, some Bay Area tech veterans see socially conservative legislation as a clarion call to become more involved in state and local politics.
Melanie Ensign, CEO of cybersecurity startup Discernible, says she moved to Miami to experience a new culture and pursue her love of scuba diving.
Alfonso Duran / Special to The Chronicle
Melanie Ensign, CEO of cybersecurity startup Discernible, moved to Miami partly to get away from what she described as the insular culture of Silicon Valley and to spend more time indulging her love of scuba diving.
A registered Democrat, she said, “These hateful laws that we’ve seen enacted by our state elected officials don’t actually reflect what Floridians want. … Nobody really wants a big brother government that tries to police our personal lives.”
Instead of relocating away from the state, she said she donates to Democratic political causes and voting against candidates who support the kinds of socially conservative policies the state has been enacting.
“It hasn’t made me rethink my decision [to move here] in the sense that I’m second guessing it,” Ensign said. “It’s made me rethink what it is that I need to do while I’m here.”
Tech transplants to Florida haven’t solely focused on Miami. Companies including Opswat and TrustLayer that were formerly headquartered in San Francisco have relocated their main offices to Tampa. Neither responded to emailed requests for comment.
Financial tech company Fast and surveillance camera and software maker Verkada also opened offices there, and Fast CEO Domm Holland also moved to Tampa with his family. Neither company responded to emails seeking comment about the controversial state legislation.
A spokesperson for Tampa’s mayor also did not respond to a request for comment, but Craig Richard, phe President and CEO of the city’s Economic Development Council, called the legislation “concerning” in an email.
“However, in Tampa we celebrate our diversity as a strength,” Richard said. “For companies thinking about relocating or expanding to the Tampa area, I assure you that we are an inclusive community that is welcoming and accepting to everyone.”
The group also pointed to the city electing an openly gay woman as mayor and being rated highly for LGBTQ equality by Human Rights Campaign as proof the city could not easily be grouped in with other parts of the state.
Rabois, the Founders Fund venture capitalist, has continued to preach the benefits of Florida, which he sees as more business friendly than California.
Rabois, who is gay, was succinct when asked in an email whether he was rethinking his decision to relocate to Florida, writing: “Nope.”
Roland Li and Chase DiFeliciantonio are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com, chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf, @ChaseDiFelice