The anti-trans movement in the U.S. is being funded by fossil fuel companies and billionaires.
That’s according to a report from HEATED and Atmos, which reviewed an independent analysis of 45 groups advancing anti-trans lobbying efforts and their financial ties. The analysis found that a whopping 80 percent of them received sizable donations from fossil fuel companies or billionaires who made their fortunes from the oil and gas industry.
Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, one of the leaders in the anti-trans movement in the U.S., received more than $50,000 from Shell between 2013 and 2022. Fracking billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks poured millions of dollars into right-wing outlets pushing anti-trans messaging, including PragerU and The Daily Wire.
It’s unclear what percentage of these organizations’ funding comes from the oil and gas industry, or if those donors are their primary funders. But the connection that does exist is worth noting, especially considering the ways LGBTQ2S+ people are vulnerable to the impacts of climate disasters.
Analysis co-author Vivian Taylor told the publications that the fossil fuel industry has a vested interest in funding anti-trans panic to distract the public from “the very real and ongoing risks” of climate change. Just last week, U.S. President Donald Trump called climate change the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” at the UN General Assembly.
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