
Anti-LGBTQ+ Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and unelected billionaire Elon Musk both proclaim themselves as champions of “free speech.” However, both their histories are littered with numerous instances of them censoring other people’s viewpoints.
The latest instance: Both recently celebrated the firing of a Latino Texas state employee who refused to remove his pronouns from work emails.
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Frank Zamora was a 31-year-old program manager at the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). But he was fired last month after refusing to comply with a new TREC policy prohibiting personal pronouns in work emails. He is a cis man, and his email signature includes “He/Him” in parentheses. He says he includes it to stand in solidarity with transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people.
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“I actually anticipated this coming,” he said, “just because we knew that many changes that were being made at the federal level were being mimicked at the state level.”
He may have been referring to an executive order issued in January by President Donald Trump forbidding federal agencies from doing anything to “promote gender ideology.” In response to the order, numerous federal agency workers were told to delete any mentions of personal pronouns from their email signatures. Including such pronouns helps others understand the writer’s gender identity and can indicate support for transgender identities.
Shortly after Trump’s executive order was signed, Abbott wrote a letter to state agencies saying that “the State of Texas recognizes only two sexes—male and female.” TREC Director Chelsea Bucholtz then emailed employees, telling them, “The agency is modifying its employee email signature block template by removing preferred pronouns.”
Zamora told the Austin American-Statesman that he saw Abbott’s order as “part of a broader effort to make LGBT+ people feel unwelcome in the state of Texas,” adding, “I could not, in good conscience, contribute to those actions in any way—no matter how small.” He also said that, before his firing, his most recent performance review said he had “exceeded expectations” and was “an essential member of the division.”
Abbott posted a link to a news report about Zamora’s firing, writing, “He was fired before noon.” Musk replied to Abbott’s post with two fire emojis. “Fire” is a slang term denoting that something is excellent, exciting, or impressive, according to one social media glossary.
Source: LGBTQ Nation