California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday added five more states to the state-funded travel bans after lawmakers passed anti-LGBTQ laws.
“When states discriminate against LGBTQ+ Americans, California law requires our office to take action. These new additions to the state-funded travel restrictions list are about exactly that,” Bonta said in a statement, according to CBS News.
The five new states include Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia. The states will join 12 other states on the travel restriction list.
AB 1887
The law that the state attorney general was referring to is known as AB 1887. The mandate bans state-funded travel to other states where protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression has been voided.
In Arkansas, one law bans physicians from providing “gender-affirming healthcare to transgender minors,” even if a physician believes such care to be medically necessary. Another bill prevents transgender women and girls from taking part in school sports consistent with their gender identity—a law also seen in Florida, Montana and West Virginia.
In North Dakota, some publicly-funded student organizations are allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students by restricting them from taking part in said organizations.
