California Adds Texas, Alabama, and Kentucky to State Travel Ban List

Ruling prohibits publicly funded trips to U.S. states with discriminatory laws that affect LGBT rights.

June 23, 2017 9:05 am
California Extends Publicly Funded Travel Ban
U.S. Democratic Representative from California Xavier Becerra speaks as members and supporters of the US Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus hold pictures of victims of the Pulse nightclub attack, one month after a gunman killed 49 people at the club in Orlando, Florida, during a vigil on the East House steps of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 2016. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump might be having trouble getting his federal travel ban enacted, but one state has been on a banning spree for the ages.

According to the Sacramento Bee, California has restricted publicly funded travel to a number of U.S. states that have passed discriminatory laws that affect gay and transgender people.

The initial list of banned states included Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Now, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, and South Dakota have been added to that list.

It was partly a reaction to state-level bills like North Carolina’s “bathroom bill,” which was repealed—but not in full.

Making the announcement, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said, “We will not spend taxpayer dollars in states that discriminate.”

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