San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee moved to ban official city travel to the State of North Carolina Friday over controversial legislation which critics say discriminates against gay, lesbian and transgender individuals.
“We are standing united as San Franciscans to condemn North Carolina’s new discriminatory law that turns back the clock on protecting the rights of all Americans including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals,” the mayor said in a statement. “Effective immediately, I am directing City Departments under my authority to bar any publicly-funded City employee travel to the State of North Carolina that is not absolutely essential to public health and safety.”
North Carolina’s new bathroom privacy law requires students to use restrooms that correspond to their biological sex. In addition, it prohibits local governments from enacting anti-discrimination ordinances based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
This is not the first time Mayor Lee has weight in on a controversial issue out of state. Around this same time last year, the mayor banned official city travel to the State of Indiana over a “religious freedom” bill.
Read more about the mayor’s announcement here.
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