California restricts state-paid travel to Indiana, other states due to transgender laws
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowCalifornia Attorney General Rob Bonta has restricted state-funded travel to Indiana, Arizona, Louisiana and Utah as a result of what he called “anti-LGBTQ+ legislation recently enacted in each state.”
The new additions are the 17th through 20th states to be added to California’s state-funded travel restrictions list. All four states were added over new state laws affecting transgender participation in school sports.
The restrictions are prescribed by law in California pursuant to Assembly Bill 1887, which was enacted in 2016. The law restricts state agencies, departments, boards or commissions from authorizing state-funded travel to a state that— after June 26, 2015—enacted a law authorizing, or repealing existing protections against, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Indiana was added to the list as a result of passing House Bill 1041 in March. Lawmakers then overrode Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of the legislation in May. The law bans transgender girls from playing on female school sports’ teams but doesn’t affect boys sports.
Holcomb vetoed the bill, saying the Indiana High School Athletic Association had a current policy that was handling the issue with no problems. But his Republican colleagues disagreed.
The bill originally also included college and professional sports but those were removed early in the process.
“Make no mistake: There is a coordinated, ongoing attack on transgender rights happening right now all across the country,” Bonta said in written comments. “Blanket legislation targeting transgender children is a ‘solution’ in search of a problem. It is detached from reality and directly undermines the well-being of our LGBTQ+ community. We’re committed to standing up against discrimination in all its forms.”