ABOUT CALIFORNIA’S TRAVEL BAN

Almost from the moment that California’s lawmakers passed a law prohibiting state-sponsored travel to states that adopt anti-LGBTQ laws, it was clear that the ban was more problematic than productive.

The intention was to send a strong message to lawmakers in other states that California would not tolerate discriminatory laws targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and would choose to spend its public money elsewhere. But if the message was received, it certainly wasn’t heeded.

When the law went into effect in 2017, four states were on the prohibited travel list. There are now 23 states on the list, including Arizona, Texas, Georgia and Florida. With more than 450 bills filed so far this year that would enact discriminatory laws against LGBTQ people, the no-go roll is likely to grow — unless we dump the well-intended travel ban …

California’s lawmakers have also been hampered by the law. They had to use political donations to attend the National Conference of State Legislatures when the association met in Tennessee a few years back … The travel ban also threw a wrench into laws California leaders rushed to adopt to help pregnant women living in states that had passed abortion restrictions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Atkins said the state could pay for pregnant women to travel to California for an abortion — but not their trip home if those women live in states on the travel ban list.

That’s ridiculous, and so is maintaining a law that does more harm to California and Californians than its intended targets. California’s troublesome travel ban has to go.