California has added five states – including Florida – to a list of places where state-funded travel is banned because of policies that discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community.
“California must take action to avoid supporting or financing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people,” Attorney General Ron Bonta said at a Monday press conference that coincided with the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
“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,” added Bonta.
In 2016, California passed a law banning non-essential travel to states with discriminatory LGBTQ laws. Travel to conferences or training are examples of out-of-state trips that are prohibited. It’s unclear what the economic impact is, but state tourism boards are desperate to attract visitors – including conference attendees – after the pandemic. California’s large population makes it a powerful entity and a trendsetter.
On Monday, Florida, Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia were added to a California no-travel list that already includes Texas, Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee.
The Associated Press explains why the list was expanded:
Florida, Montana, Arkansas, and West Virginia passed laws that prevent transgender women and girls from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.
North Dakota signed into law a bill allowing certain publicly-funded student organizations to restrict LGBTQ students from joining without losing funding.
Arkansas passed the first law in the nation to prohibit physicians from providing gender-affirming healthcare to transgender minors — regardless of the wishes of parents or whether a physician deems such care to be medically necessary.
According to The Human Rights Campaign, at least 117 bills have been introduced in the current legislative session that target the transgender community.
More from The New York Times:
Evan Low, a California lawmaker who wrote the ban, said it was meant to keep state workers safe and out of situations where they might be discriminated against.
“The current culture war is not a game,” he said.
In 2017, Low acknowledged that banning state-funded travel to Texas was largely symbolic. Still, he said this week that he hoped California’s moves would prompt big businesses to follow suit.