Several States Ban Official Travel To Mississippi Over Anti-Gay Law
Several states are actively demonstrating their opposition to the law Mississippi passed on Tuesday which discriminates against the LGBT community.
Vermont, Washington state and New York's governors all banned official state-funded or sponsored travel to Mississippi on Tuesday. The District of Columbia is considering a similar measure.
“Discrimination is not a New York value. We believe our diversity is our greatest strength, and we will continue to reject the politics of division and exclusion,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in a statement. “This Mississippi law is a sad, hateful injustice against the LGBT community, and I will not allow any non-essential official travel to that state until it is repealed.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said his state's ban will remain as long as Mississippi’s law exists “in its current form."
The Mississippi law allows people with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples and permits employers to use religious beliefs as justification in determining workplace policies, such as dress code, grooming and bathroom and locker access.
This follows similar moves by New York and Washington state's governors to ban travel to North Carolina after Gov. Pat McCrory (R) passed a bill on March 23 preventing cities and counties from passing protections against LGBT discrimination.
Members of the business community are also taking a stand. Online payment company PayPal announced Tuesday that it would cancel its expansion project in Charlotte, North Carolina -- which would have been a $3.6 million investment that brought in 400 jobs.
“Becoming an employer in North Carolina, where members of our teams will not have equal rights under the law, is simply untenable," said Dan Schulman, PayPal's president and CEO, in a statement.
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