title:  Major Corporation Leaves South Carolina After Republican Introduces Anti-LGBT Bill
text: South Carolina Republicans just introduced an anti-LGBT bill similar to laws passed in North Carolina and Mississippi, and they are already paying the price for it.GOP state Senator Lee Bright thinks trans people are a threat to the safety of women and children in bathrooms despite there being zero evidence of it across the country. I mean, years ago we kept talking about tolerance, tolerance, and tolerance, and now they want men who claim to be women to be able to go into bathrooms with children,  Bright said on the floor of the state Senate while introducing his legislation.  And you got corporations who say this is okay. But Bright s claim is a complete lie that is not based in fact. In 17 states and over 200 cities across the country that have passed protections for LGBT people against discrimination, there has not been a single recorded instance of a trans person entering a women s bathroom to sexually harass anyone.Yet Republicans have made the claim to justify their anti-LGBT bills anyway, making discrimination legal under the guise of religious liberty. North Carolina passed the odious law last month, and Mississippi did the same this month. So far, both states have faced a severe backlash and it is costing both states dearly.Businesses and corporations are threatening to pull out of the state and many have already done so or cancelled plans to expand into the states. Both are also facing the loss of billions of federal dollars.And corporations aren t even waiting for South Carolina Republicans to pass their own bill into law. Just introducing it was enough for one CEO to move his company to California rather than remain in a state that still embraces bigotry.Uphold is a financial services industry that allows users of the service to transfer deposits of bitcoin into reserve-backed currencies such as the dollar. It s a fast-growing business that has handled nearly $1 billion in transactions in just the last two years.CEO Anthony Watson is so disgusted by Bright s bill that he has decided to move his company, which is headquartered in Charleston, out of the state. Uphold is founded on the key pillars of transparency and accountability, and at our very core, we stand for fairness, inclusion and equality,  Watson wrote in a statement on the company website.  Just as Uphold brings financial services to everyone, everywhere, we ve also built a company that brings the principles of fairness, inclusion and equality to everything we do. Watson then proceeded to rip South Carolina Republicans a new one and announced his decision to launch a preemptive exodus out of the state rather than sit and watch as bigoted Republicans jam the bill into law. As the openly gay, British CEO of an American company, I have watched in shock and dismay as legislation has been abruptly proposed or enacted in several states across the union seeking to invalidate the basic protections and rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) U.S. citizens.Some of you may be aware that Uphold s U.S. headquarters is based in Charleston, South Carolina. In recent days, we have been made aware that South Carolina Sen. Lee Bright has introduced a bill largely mirroring North Carolina s controversial law that blocks local governments from passing LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination ordinances. As such, we feel compelled to take action to oppose the discrimination being proposed in South Carolina and protect our LGBT employees.Today, Uphold has taken the difficult decision to move its U.S. corporate Headquarters from Charleston, South Carolina to Los Angeles, California.We will stand firm in our commitment to fairness, equality and inclusion and our strong conviction that we can make a difference by living our core values. It s the right thing to do for our members, employees, partners and the communities in which we live and work. The bold move will cost South Carolinians hundreds of jobs and will likely be a major blow to the state and local economies. It s just a taste of what South Carolina Republicans can expect if they continue on the path of taking the state backwards.Featured iamge via Wikimedia