SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California has added five more states, including Florida, to the list of places where state-funded travel is banned because of laws that discriminate against members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday added Florida, Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia to a list that now has 17 states where state employee travel is forbidden except in limited circumstances.
The other states that were already included on that list are Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.
Lawmakers in 2016 passed the law banning non-essential travel to states with laws that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
The legislation is called Assembly Bill 1887. The state law has exemptions for some trips, including travel that is needed to enforce California law.
The laws passed in the newly included states are part of a wave of new legislation that works to ban transgender youth from playing sports, block access to health care, or otherwise limit the rights of people in the LGBTQ+ community.
“Assembly Bill 1887 is about aligning our dollars with our values,” said Bonta in a statement. “When states discriminate against LGBTQ+ Americans, California law requires our office to take action. These new additions to the state-funded travel restrictions list are about exactly that. It’s been 52 years to the day since the Stonewall Riots began, but that same fight remains all too alive and well in this country. Rather than focusing on solving real issues, some politicians think it’s in their best interest to demonize trans youth and block life-saving care. Make no mistake: We’re in the midst of an unprecedented wave of bigotry and discrimination in this country — and the State of California is not going to support it.”
