California is continuing its war against states that adopt what the Golden State considers “anti-LGBT” laws.”
The state’s attorney general banned travel to the state of Texas while also banning travel to Alabama, South Dakota, and Kentucky. Previously, travel was banned to North Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
I think that in all those cases the feeling is mutual.
California taxpayers’ money “will not be used to let people travel to states who chose to discriminate,” Becerra said.
It’s unclear what practical effect California’s travel ban will have. The state law contains exemptions for some trips, such as travel needed to enforce California law and to honor contracts made before 2017. Travel to conferences or out-of-state trainings are examples of trips that could be blocked. Becerra’s office couldn’t provide information about how often state employees have visited the newly banned states.
Texas was added to the list because of a law that lets child welfare organizations deny services and adoptions to families because of “sincerely held religious beliefs” that Becerra’s office says would allow LGBT discrimination. Similar laws were enacted in Alabama and South Dakota. Kentucky’s new law could allow LGBT discrimination in schools, according to Becerra’s office.
“California may be able to stop their state employees, but they can’t stop all the businesses that are fleeing over taxation and regulation and relocating to Texas,” said John Wittman, a spokesman for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican.
Fresno State, a public California university, is scheduled to play football against the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa this fall. A request for a legal opinion on whether public university sports’ travel is exempt from the ban has been filed with Becerra’s office, but no ruling has been issued.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s press office did not have an immediate comment.
Will California ban travel of government officials for business development to rabidly anti-LGBT countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and two dozen other countries where you can go to jail — or worse – for kissing a member of the same sex? If the Saudis want to invest in California — despite the fact they severely punish homosexuality — I’m sure the Kingdom’s money will forgive a lot of sins.
I think that kind of travel will be “exempt.”
The dripping hypocrisy of this ban is that it will be enforced only as long as it doesn’t hurt the state or the government. All you LGBT supporters out there — how do you feel about THAT? They refuse to sacrifice anything — anything — for your cause. It’s certainly no skin off of Texas’s nose if delegates from La-La Land boycott them. All California is doing is engaging in mindless posturing.
Conservative states should ban travel to California for some of their wackier policies, including their discriminatory “anti-discrimination” policies for admissions to state colleges. I’m sure they could find a few more if they looked.
But that’s the difference between rational, traditional U.S. states and the hysterical, politically correct air heads who run California. Most states are serious about belonging to the United States of America. California sees its membership in the U.S. as optional, picking and choosing whom it will favor with visits from their bureaucrats.
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