The CEO and co-founder of South By Southwest (SXSW), Roland Swenson, said taking the event out of Texas is “not a solution” in response to the comments of two U.S. Senators.
Senators, Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, wrote Swenson a letter on Tuesday. They refer to the relatively new SB4 as an “anti-immigrant” law. They ask SXSW to leave Texas as a way to protest SB4.
SB4 was authored by Lubbock’s State Senator Charles Perry and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott.
SB4 forbids local government agencies from ignoring federal immigration laws. Austin and other cities have filed a lawsuit to stop the implementation of SB4 which allows for the state to cut off funds to local governments. In some cases, SB4 can include criminal penalties.
SXSW is an annual film, interactive media, and music festival in Austin.
The text of Swenson’s statement is as follows:
We stand by the City of Austin in their challenge against SB4 and will continue to speak out against it, and all discriminatory legislation.
We agree with the Senators that SB4 stands diametrically opposed to the spirit of SXSW and respect their call to action. We understand why, in today’s political climate, people are asking us to leave Texas.
For us this is not a solution. Austin is our home and an integral part of who we are. We will stay here and continue to make our event inclusive while fighting for the rights of all.
(KXAN.com contributed to this report)
