California adds 4 states to ‘travel ban’ list
Texas and Alabama now included among pariah states
California has a “travel ban” — and its list of pariah states has suddenly doubled.
The new law took effect in January, banning state employees and officials from using tax money to go to states with laws it deemed discriminatory in regards to LGBT issues — starting with Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee.
And on Thursday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that the list had doubled. The ban now includes Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota and Texas, the second-largest state in the U.S.
“Our country has made great strides in dismantling prejudicial laws that have deprived too many of our fellow Americans of their precious rights,” Becerra said in a statement. “Sadly, that is not the case in all parts of our nation, even in the 21st Century.
Three of the four new states recently moved to protect faithbased adoption or foster agencies who refuse to place children with certain families, such as samesex couples. Another protects religious expression in schools, including provisions on student organizations that LGBT advocates argue could allow clubs to shun prospective members based on their gender identity.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the news with a biting rebuke in a statement playing to his state’s noisy economic rivalry with the Golden State.
“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,” Abbott spokesman John Wittman told CBS Dallas.
While the motivations behind the move are understandable, the ban could be tricky to implement
— and, potentially, trigger political retribution, said Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.
“California is not held in high esteem in much of the country,” Pitney said. “One could see legislatures in other states supporting some kind of retaliatory action. It would be quite popular with the Republican electorate.”
But a ban on travel to California might not go over that well, he said.
“There are quite possibly a lot of people who want an excuse to visit Disneyland,” Pitney quipped.
Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Cupertino, leads the California Legislative LGBT Caucus and wrote Assembly Bill 1887, which created the ban. He applauded Becerra’s decision.
“AB 1887 was enacted to ensure our taxpayer dollars do not fund bigotry or hatred,” he said. “Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s action today sends a strong message that discrimination beyond our borders will not be tolerated.”