California bans state-funded travel to Oklahoma over its anti-LGBT adoption law
California on Friday announced a ban on state-funded and state-sponsored travel to Oklahoma in response to the state’s controversial LGBTQ adoption bill, USA Today reported.
“California taxpayers are taking a stand against bigotry and in support of those who would be harmed by this prejudiced policy,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Friday.
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Under a 2017 California law, the state’s attorney general is required to keep a list of all states subject to a travel ban because of “laws that authorize or require discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression,” Becerra said in a statement obtained by USA Today.
The Oklahoma law, passed last month, allows adoption and foster care agencies to reject same-sex couples on religious grounds. California’s ban, announced by Becerra, came on the first day of LGBTQ Pride Month.
“There appears to be more and more Californians sharing our values as we are seeing more Californians move to Oklahoma,” Michael McNutt, a spokesman for Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R), said in a statement to USA TODAY. “With our state’s economy being as strong as it is, we won’t miss a few Californians traveling on state business showing up in our state.”
Fallin signed the adoption bill into law last month and has said the law does not restrict LGBTQ individuals from adopting.
The travel ban will go into effect on June 22. Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas have also been subjected to travel bans.
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