State rebukes Idaho for antitrans laws

On July 1, Idaho will refuse to allow transgender residents to change their birth certificates or compete on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. In return, California will cut off statefunded travel to Idaho.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday that Idaho would become the 12th state affected by a 2017 California law ending state subsidies for trips to states that allow or require discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law applies to travel funded by state agencies, boards and commissions, the University of California and California State University.

“Where states legislate discrimination, California unambiguously speaks out,” Becerra said in a statement. “The state of Idaho has taken drastic steps to undermine the rights of the transgender community, preventing people from playing sports in school or having documentation that reflects their identity.”

The announcement came a week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a 1964 federal law, banning sex discrimination in employment, forbids job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A state agency under Little’s Republican predecessor, Gov. Butch Otter, adopted regulations prohibiting transgender residents from changing the sex listed on their birth certificate. U.S. Magistrate Candy Dale ruled the prohibition unconstitutional in 2018, saying it was discriminatory and singled out transgender individuals for burdensome identification requirements. The state did not appeal the ruling.

But Little, also a Republican, signed a law in March passed by the Republicancontrolled Legislature to reinstate the birth certificate restriction. Dale issued a new ruling June 1 saying her previous order was still in force, although she declined to block enforcement of the law before it takes effect July 1.

Little also signed a bill, which sponsors titled the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, that requires public school and college sports teams to base participation on an athlete’s gender at birth.

The other states covered by California’s ban on statefunded travel are Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.