Jack Daniels and 200 other Tennessee businesses take a stand against anti-LGBT discrimination
Parent company of whiskey distiller Jack Daniels axed their DEI initiatives because the “world has changed since 2019.” (Getty Images)
Jack Daniels is one of 200 business who have joined a coalition against LGBT discrimination in Tennessee.
The whisky giant was one of many businesses in and around Nashville to sign up to a pledge which vows to resist discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The city is known for being the home of some of the world’s best-known country music stars.
The “warning shot”, as described by the Tennessean, was signed on Tuesday morning by a number of businesses which also includes Country Music television, AT&T, FedEx and Dow.
Nashville’s Music Row also signed up to keep Tennessee free of LGBT+ discrimination.
The coalition recognises the huge amount of money tourism brings to Tennessee, and the need to rid the state of discrimination in order to remain a popular tourist destination.
The statement goes against moves in other states like North Carolina, of which the HB2 bill has caused immeasurable damage to the state’s reputation.
HB2 bans trans people from using gender appropriate bathrooms and rolled back local ordinances protecting LGBT+ people.
Most recently, North Carolina lost a performance by the San Francisco Symphony over HB2.
Earlier this year the state took a hit as a judge ruled that the University of North Carolina can’t use HB2 to block trans people from accessing gender-appropriate bathrooms.
This was followed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) saying the state cannot host any games.
The ruling, only temporary, has been considered a huge defeat for the proponents of HB2.
Earlier this year, the University of Vermont pulled a game with the University of North Carolina, voicing concerns over HB2.
The NBA announced that it had opted to move its 2017 All Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, in protest against the state’s anti-LGBT HB2, which was introduced this year.
The league previously said it was “deeply concerned” by North Carolina’s recently passed HB2, which rolled back pre-existing LGBT rights protections.
It was thought that HB2 would be repealed or revised in North Carolina, but lawmakers in the state last month adjourned, leaving the law barely changed.
