A Texas state employee says he was fired last month for refusing to remove his pronouns from his email signature.
Frank Zamora’s termination came days after his employer, the Texas Real Estate Commission, mandated that all workers remove personal pronouns from their email signatures.
The order follows a similar rule implemented by the Trump administration.
“While many may consider an email signature block to be a strange place to draw the line, I consider it the front line of protest before actual discriminatory policies are put into place,” Zamora, who is not transgender, wrote in a letter to his bosses explaining why he would not follow the new rule. “And I could not in good conscience let the first domino fall without a strong formal declination.”
In recent years, Republicans have sought to limit transgender rights. An executive order issued shortly after President Trump took office established that there are only two immutable sexes. And Republicans on Capitol Hill have banned transgender people from using bathrooms that don’t correspond with their birth sex.
On Tuesday, Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) misgendered Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Delaware) during a Congressional hearing, calling her “Mr. McBride.” When Rep. Bill Keating (D-Massachusetts) interjected — asking “Mr. Chairman, have you no decency?” Self abruptly adjourned the meeting.
Zamora says he refused to remove his pronouns from his signature because he found it important to stand with the transgender community.
After sending the letter, Zamora was promptly fired from his job. He says he stands by his decision to push back on the mandate and that this was the first time he felt like a culture war encroached on his livelihood.
“I felt that if I did not make that message of declination that we would just continue to see discriminatory practices being put into place in very small ways,” Zamora says, “which can add up to fundamental change for the negative for a very small group of marginalized Texans and Americans.”
Elon Musk and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott applaud his termination. Zamora says he’s heard from people who support his move and have added their pronouns to their own email signatures or social media profiles.
“There are countless employees at the state and federal level who are taking stands, who are refusing to be part of political agendas,” Zamora says. “It reminds us that we are not alone in our convictions, and it has absolutely strengthened me to continue to speak out against this type of thing."
Zamora says he won’t pursue legal action against the state, adding he’s more focused on using his story to unite others in Texas.
“ I’m seeking the reconnection of my Texas community in understanding that the people who may choose to use their preferred pronouns for any reason are not their enemy,” Zamora says. “They are their fellow Americans, their fellow Texans. I want us to rehumanize each other on both sides of the aisle.”
James Perkins Mastromarino produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Michael Scotto. Grace Griffin adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2025 WBUR
