A California state lawmaker has admitted that a previous pro-LGBT law banning taxpayer-funded travel to certain states has had an “unintended” negative impact on research and economic activity and is an obstacle to its goals to support travel for an abortion.
The Democrat-run state’s decision not to engage with states on the grounds of supporting LGBT communities has meant that California’s public university systems have experienced challenges with conducting academic research, including on LGBT issues.
The law at the center of the matter was prompted by North Carolina banning transgender people from using a bathroom that doesn’t match their biological sex in 2016. In response, California banned state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions from using taxpayer funds to travel to states that adopt “discriminatory anti-LGBTQ+” laws.
Since then, 23 states have adopted similar laws, which subsequently means that California now bans taxpayer-funded travel to almost half of all U.S. states.
To undo the ban, California state Senate President pro-Tempore Toni Atkins on Tuesday announced Senate Bill 447, known as the BRIDGE Project (Building and Reinforcing Inclusive, Diverse, Gender-Supportive Equality).
According to Atkins, the proposed bill would put an end to the travel restriction and instead establish a publicity initiative in those states to encourage the acceptance and inclusion of the LGBT community. The legislation would establish a pool of resources to finance the campaign, which would accept donations from private sources and any available state funding.
Travel Ban
California’s travel ban has also meant that public college and university sports teams from the state have had to find alternative methods of financing their away games in locations such as Arizona and Utah.
This has also made it challenging to achieve certain objectives of the state, such as using taxpayer funds to cover the travel expenses of individuals from other states who come to California for abortion services.
In August last year, California put aside $20 million in its budget to pay for women from out of the state to travel to California to obtain an abortion. California has some of the most extreme abortion laws in the United States, allowing late-term abortions and protecting women and doctors from prosecution for failing to provide care to a baby born alive after a failed abortion.Repealing the ban may prove to be a challenge in the California legislature due to the significant number of LGBT lawmakers, who currently make up 10 percent of the legislature.
Assemblymember Evan Low, a Democrat from Campbell who authored the travel ban in 2016, expressed his support for the advertising campaign component of SB 447 but emphasized that “we shouldn’t completely end California’s state-funded travel ban without having an alternative action in combating discrimination.”
Low, who is gay, underscored the importance of standing firm against what he described as a “record amount of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation” being introduced around the country.
California’s travel ban has been in effect since 2017, and the state Attorney General maintains a record of the states that are subject to the ban.
The list has expanded as multiple states have passed laws that protect minors from transgender surgeries and treatments, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapies, and prevent people who don’t identify with their biological sex from participating in school sports designated by biological sex.
California’s travel ban has been in effect since 2017.
