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California Ends Travel Bans to Conservative States
A bill that officially lifts California's restriction on official travel to conservative states that have passed legislation that Democrats allege is anti-LGBTQ was signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday. The prohibition was a complete failure.
The Sacramento Bee reported:
“Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed Senate Bill 447 into law, ending the seven-year-old travel ban that prohibited state money from being used to pay for travel to states with anti-LGBTQ laws.
The ban caused difficulties for many state agencies, researchers, student-athletes and others who rely on state money. Even supporters of the ban acknowledged that the law was not having the deterrent effect it was intended to — with more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills [sic] introduced in state legislatures across the country so far this year.
SB 447 replaces the ban with a state-funded, non-partisan advertising campaign in anti-LGBTQ states, which will spread a message of inclusivity, according to its supporters.”
At one point, the bans applied to a third of the country. San Francisco likewise abandoned its own boycotts of conservative states because they were ineffectual and would have added millions of dollars in expenses to the city's budget.
Newsom had routinely violated the restrictions, visiting “red” states for both political and personal reasons..
The majority of the so-called “anti-LGBTQ” laws dealt with matters like preventing transgender athletes from participating in women's sports even though they were biologically male, banning transgender drugs and surgeries for minors, and enforcing the use of traditional male and female bathrooms rather than allowing transgender people to use whichever restroom they preferred.
California may spend money on advertisements that target states that approve anti-LGBTQ “discrimination” legislation, according to the repeal bill, SB 447.
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