Assemblyman Evan Low has revealed that California is expanding its list of states subject to a taxpayer-funded travel ban due to recent measures viewed as discriminatory against LGBTQ+ Americans.
California has had a law on the books since 2016 that prohibits government-funded trips to states that pass discriminatory laws or remove protections for people based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, or sex, but Assemblyman Evan Low said it will be expanded to include five new states.
“We do not want to subject public employees to any type of discrimination,” Low said at a Sacramento press conference.
“There has been a coordinated attack on fundamental civil rights,” California attorney general Rob Bonta also explained at a news conference. “It’s about aligning our dollars with our values.”
The new additions are Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia.
Other states on the list are Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.
When Texas recently appealed to the Supreme Court to be removed from this list, it was denied.
The state of Texas has been on California’s taxpayer-funded travel ban since 2017 when the state allowed child welfare providers to refuse service based on religious beliefs.
California has banned state-funded travel to five new states that have recently passed measures seen as discriminatory against the LGBTQ community. This is all in an effort to turn back the tide in statehouses across America, which are passing anti-LGBTQ laws or removing protections for LGBTQ people.
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