Behind the rainbow: How AT&T really celebrated Pride Month
Welcome to Popular Information, a newsletter about politics and power — written by me, Judd Legum. During June, AT&T plastered its social media accounts with rainbows, asserted that the company "recognizes, embraces, and stands with LGBTQ+ people," and emphasized its commitment to addressing the "mental health crisis among LGBTQ+ youth." Simultaneously, according to new campaign finance filings obtained by Popular Information, AT&T quietly sent thousands in corporate PAC contributions to anti-LGBTQ politicians in Alabama that are targeting trans youth. In April, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed into law House Bill 391, legislation that banned "transgender youth from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity." The bill was denounced by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's most prominent LGBTQ rights organization, as compromising the "health and safety of all kids for cheap political gain." Participation in sports can help alleviate "depression and anxiety." Sports teams provide "a chance to affirm young people’s rights to belong, feel comfortable in their bodies, and be a part of a supportive community." Therefore, "policies of exclusion," like the bill enacted by Ivey, "can exacerbate the mental health crisis already surrounding transgender youth." In early June, AT&T signed a letter, organized by the Human Rights Campaign, opposing "bills being introduced in state houses across the country that single out LGBTQ individuals - many specifically targeting transgender youth - for exclusion or differential treatment." Days later, AT&T's corporate PAC donated $5,000 to Ivey, who is targeting LGBTQ youth with discriminatory legislation. During Pride Month, AT&T promoted its charitable contribution to the Trevor Project, "the world’s largest organization for suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ youth." But the Trevor Project condemned Ivey for signing HB 391 and said it would make its sucide prevention mission more difficult. The group noted that "transgender and nonbinary youth who report experiencing discrimination based on their gender identity had more than double the odds of attempting suicide in the past year compared to those who did not experience gender identity-based discrimination." Meanwhile, "transgender and nonbinary youth who reported having at least one gender-affirming space had 25% reduced odds of attempting suicide in the past year — the strongest association being with gender-affirming schools." In Alabama, the Trevor Project has received 2300 crisis contacts over the past year. HB 391 reached Ivey's desk with the support of most Republicans in the Alabama legislature. State Senators Clay Scofield (R), Daniel Roberts (R), and Gerald Allen (R) voted for HB 391 and received money from AT&T's corporate PAC in June. AT&T contributed $3,000 to Scofield and $2,000 each to Roberts and Allen. In the Alabama House, Representatives Corley Ellis (R) and David Wheeler (R) voted for HB 391 and each received $500 from AT&T's corporate PAC in June. The company did not donate to any member of the Alabama legislature that opposed the bill. AT&T did not respond to a request for comment. AT&T backed Alabama officials push to ban medical care for trans youthThis year, the Alabama legislature also considered SB10, a bill to ban "gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth." The bill would make it a felony for doctors to provide "treatments like hormones and puberty blockers to individuals under the age of 19." Violations would come with a "sentence of up to 10 years in prison or a $15,000 fine." The bill would have also required teachers to report "a minor’s perception that his or her gender is inconsistent with his or her sex" to their parents. Teachers that failed to do so would face unspecified penalties. SB10 was opposed by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Here is an excerpt from a March statement by American Academy of Pediatrics President Lee Savio Beers:
Research shows "transgender children who receive gender-affirming care such as puberty-delaying medication, hormones, or both when they are young have better mental health outcomes and report fewer cases of depression, self-harm, and suicide or attempted suicide." SB10 was approved by the Alabama Senate in March with the support of Scofield, Roberts, and Allen. After it passed the Alabama Senate, the Trevor Project released a statement asserting that the "legislation will endanger young trans lives in Alabama" and "contradicts the consensus of major medical associations and the overwhelming evidence that demonstrates how affirming transgender and nonbinary youth in their identities reduces suicide risk and improves health." Nevertheless, in June, the trio of Alabama Senators who supported the bill was rewarded with a combined $7,000 from AT&T's corporate PAC. SB10 never made it to Ivey's desk because it failed to get a vote in the Alabama House before the conclusion of the legislative session. Despite large donations to anti-LGBTQ politicians, AT&T maintains a perfect score in the "Corporate Equality Index"Last month, Popular Information reported that AT&T was one of the largest corporate donors to anti-LGBTQ politicians in the last two years. Since 2019, AT&T donated almost $1.1 million to anti-LGBTQ members of Congress who were rated "zero" by the HRC. The company also donated to the sponsors of anti-trans legislation in Arkansas ($12,950), Tennessee ($4,000), North Carolina ($5,000), Texas ($22,500), and Florida ($17,500). And yet, AT&T was able to maintain a perfect score in HRC's Corporate Equality Index. The Corporate Equality Index purports to measure, among other things, a company's "public commitment to the LGBTQ community." AT&T's recent donations to the sponsors of anti-trans legislation in Alabama will not change its score. Why? HRC's methodology excludes political donations, enabling corporations to craft a pro-LGBTQ image while bankrolling politicians that are undermining LGBTQ rights. But, according to HRC and the Trevor Project, the anti-trans legislation poses a severe threat to the health and well-being of trans youth. Therefore, it is hard to justify calculating the Corporate Equality Index without considering corporate donations to the politicians advancing these bills. You won't learn about AT&T's recent donations to Alabama politicians anywhere else. That's because Popular Information is the only publication comprehensively monitoring corporate political spending at the federal and state level. But Popular Information is a two-person operation and this is a massive project. It involves reviewing thousands of campaign finance records from dozens of sources. But it's the only way to hold corporations accountable. We recently hired a summer intern to help with this work. You can help us permanently expand our capacity with a paid subscription. In order to stay completely independent, Popular Information accepts no advertising. We rely exclusively on the support of readers like you. |
Older messages
The comedy and tragedy of Trump's new lawsuit against Facebook
Saturday, July 10, 2021
On Wednesday morning, former President Donald Trump appeared at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and announced he was filing class-action lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google. The
UPDATE: Toyota reverses course, says it will stop donating to Republican objectors
Saturday, July 10, 2021
(Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) On April 17, Popular Information reported that Toyota was the top corporate contributor to Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn the
Despite pledge, Google's campaign cash flows to Republican objectors
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
On January 25, Google announced that "after the disturbing events at the Capitol," its corporate PAC "will not be making any contributions this cycle to any member of Congress who voted
The dog days
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
In June, Popular Information covered the defeat of voter suppression legislation in Texas, exposed the hypocrisy of 25 rainbow flag-waving corpo…
Dropping the hammer on "cancel culture"
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Republican elected officials support a variety of extremely unpopular policy positions including cutting taxes for corporations, maintaining a
You Might Also Like
A Little Black Dress That’s Just the Right Amount of Little
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Here's What You Missed on the Strategist The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. A
Daniels, straight up
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Stormy Daniels offered up the most salacious testimony yet in Trump's criminal trial. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How a Miami Student’s Package Scam Came Crashing Down
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer crime The Package King of Miami Matthew Bergwall was a gifted coder who could have gotten a
Those viral veggie choppers?
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
You can do better ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Wednesday Briefing: Israel in Rafah; negotiators in Cairo
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Also, Stormy Daniels testified in Donald Trump's trial. View in browser|nytimes.com Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition May 8, 2024 Author Headshot By Amelia Nierenberg Good morning. We'
Get Your Mind Into the Sewer
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
"If you live in London, Dr Leon Barron knows what you're up to. He knows what prescribed drugs you're on – painkillers, antidepressants, antipsychotics or beta blockers – and what illicit
How can Washington state create a skilled and adaptable workforce?
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Lexion acquisition to Docusign latest success story from AI2 | NVIDIA invests in Carbon Robotics ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Join the Nordic Innovation Summit, May 13-14: Topics include AI,
☕ Scrub hub
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Figs's new premium scrubs. May 07, 2024 Retail Brew It's Tuesday, and it looks like the labor market may slow down in the second half of the year after a period of encouraging growth. With
☕ Unfiltered
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Inside Jolie Skin Co.'s product-seeding strategy. May 07, 2024 Marketing Brew It's Tuesday. To promote its Skittles Littles candy, Skittles is giving one lucky person a rent-free year in a very
Welcome to The Flyover
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Thanks for joining The Flyover! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏