Gov. Peter Shumlin has a message for the mammoth online banking company PayPal: Come to Vermont.
Shumlin invited PayPal to relocate to the Green Mountain State last week after the company announced it would cancel expansion plans in North Carolina because of a new law that blocks municipalities from enacting anti-discrimination laws protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual residents.
The governor penned a letter to PayPal CEO Dan Schulman asking him to come to Vermont, which he said has “a proud history of non-discrimination and protecting the rights of all citizens.”
“I believe Vermont would be a great place for you to locate your facility,” Shumlin wrote. “We would welcome you – as we do all our citizens no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity – with open arms.”
The governor’s letter is copied below.
Dear Mr. Schulman,
I want to commend you for your decision to cancel expansion plans in North Carolina over disagreements with that state’s recent law which opens the door to discrimination against the LGBT community. Your decision is an admirable one that reflects a set of values that we share in Vermont.
Vermont has a long proud history of standing up for our citizens’ rights. In 2000, Vermont was the first state to recognize that the love two people share is more important than their gender when we enacted civil unions. In 2009, Vermont was the first state to legislatively enact marriage equality simply because it is the right thing to do, not because a judge ordered us to. In 1992, Vermont was one of the first states to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2007, Vermont added gender identity to our non-discrimination law.
In addition to this proud history, Vermont also has a burgeoning tech sector. Companies like Dealer.com, My Web Grocer, and GlobalFoundries call our state home. Burlington, our state’s largest city, has been rated one of the ten most innovative tech hubs in America and was recently designated by the White House as a TechHire City.
I don’t need to tell you about Vermont’s natural beauty since you attended Middlebury College, and therefore we consider you one of our own. And don’t get me started on our award winning farm-to-plate, farm-to-fork, and farm-to-can revolution that is producing the world’s best beer, cheese, and much more.
Given all of that, I believe Vermont would be a great place for you to locate your facility. We would welcome you – as we do all our citizens no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity – with open arms.
Sincerely,
Peter Shumlin
Governor
