Mississippi Fairness Act becomes law July 1, 2021.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Monday that California will restrict state-funded travel to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia as a result of “new anti-LGBTQ+ legislation recently enacted in each state.”
“The states are a part of a recent, dangerous wave of discriminatory new bills signed into law in states across the country that directly work to ban transgender youth from playing sports, block access to life-saving care, or otherwise limit the rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community,” the release from the California AG states. “Many states pushing these new discriminatory laws are already on California’s travel restrictions list. The new restrictions on state-funded travel to the states announced today are prescribed by law in California pursuant to Assembly Bill 1887 (AB 1887), which was enacted in 2016.”
There is an unprecedented wave of bigotry and discrimination in this country. California will not support it.
When states discriminate against LGBTQ+ Americans, we take action: https://t.co/L067TUNVri
— Rob Bonta (@RobBonta) June 28, 2021
Mississippi has been on the California state-funded travel ban list since 2016, along with Texas, Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, and Tennessee.
The California AG says the bans are “about aligning our dollars with our values.”
“Rather than focusing on solving real issues, some politicians think it’s in their best interest to demonize trans youth and block life-saving care,” AG Bonta said in the release. “Make no mistake: We’re in the midst of an unprecedented wave of bigotry and discrimination in this country — and the State of California is not going to support it.”
Mississippi passed the Fairness Act earlier this year, barring biological men from competing in women and girls’ sports public schools and universities in the state. It was authored by State Senator Angela Hill and moved through the House with the aid of State Representative Becky Currie, among others.
At the signing of the new law, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves called the signing of the Fairness Act an important day for women and girls in the state.
“But for the fact that President Biden as one of his first initiatives sat down and signed an Executive Order, which in my view encourages transgenderism amongst our young people, but for that fact we wouldn’t be here today,” Reeves said in signing the Fairness Act into law.
The Mississippi Fairness Act will officially become law July 1, 2021, as per the legislation.
The California travel ban law restricts a state agency, department, board, or commission from authorizing state-funded travel to a state that has enacted a law authorizing, or repealing existing protections against, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Frank Corder
