Businesses warn Missouri Republicans their 'backwards and bigoted' culture war will harm the statehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/businesses-warn-missouri-republicans-their-backwards-and-bigoted-culture-war-will-harm-the-state/ar-AA16JpX7?cvid=12563b1b9ca24d688b36a2c5690108d5Story by Matthew Chapman (25 Jan 2023)
Missouri Republicans are preparing a blitz of new legislation that would directly attack LGBTQ people, demonize them as a sexual risk to children, and strip them of various rights — and local business leaders are warning it would cause harm to the state, reported KSDK this week.
"Business advocates warned the proposals would harm the state's economic attractiveness, and could result in companies or workers avoiding moving to Missouri," reported Mark Maxwell. "'There is a group of employees who won't come here because they think Missouri is a backwards and bigoted state,' Shannon Cooper with the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce said."
The proposals in the legislature, noted the report, "would expand existing child pornography laws to restrict minors from attending drag shows, regulate competitive sports to prevent transgender girls from competing against other girls or women, and would outlaw transgender medical transition procedures for minors. If the package of bills become law, doctors who provide puberty blockers, gender hormones, or transition surgeries to minors could lose their license, face lawsuits, and serve time in jail." Also protesting the move is the only transgender clinic in the region, with a spokesperson saying, "The compassionate care we provide is recognized and accepted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Psychological Association, and other medical societies."
