Walmart heirs stand up to Arkansas’s anti-trans legislators with $1M donation to LGBTQ groups

Photo: Walmart Pride store image

The family of Sam Walton – the heirs to the Walmart fortune – are donating $1 million to help LGBTQ organizations in the state of Arkansas just weeks after the state passed the harshest anti-transgender law in the country.

The Arkansas legislature passed a bill that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors this past April over the governor’s veto, which has led people to worry about trans teen suicide in the state while other families prepare to leave in order to continue to access hormones and other essential health care.

Related: Walmart made a cute ad about a gay couple dating at a store. The right is outraged.

And, for Pride Month, Olivia and Tom Walton are using the family’s charitable foundations to distribute $25,000 grants for “legal, health, education, and advocacy services” for LGBTQ people. Tom Walton is Sam Walton’s grandson.

The fund will be overseen by the Arkansas Community Foundation.

“Our state is in a moment of reflection where each of us must send a message of acceptance to the LGBTQ community that says ‘You belong here,’” Olivia and Tom Walton said in a statement. “It is also a time for action by recognizing LGBTQ Arkansans face growing challenges that need community-driven solutions.”

The ACLU has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Arkansas alleging that it…

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