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California Bans State Travel to KY, 3 Other States

California Bans State Travel to KY, 3 Other States
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By The Associated Press/West Kentucky Star Staff
Jun. 24, 2017 | FRANKFORT, KY
By The Associated Press/West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 24, 2017 | 12:29 AM | FRANKFORT, KY
California's attorney general is blocking state-funded travel to Texas and three other states in response to what he considers anti-LGBT rights laws enacted this year.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday added Texas, Alabama, South Dakota and Kentucky to the list of places where state employee travel is restricted. Lawmakers passed legislation last year banning non-essential travel to states with laws that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. North Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi and Tennessee are already on the list.

Becerra says California taxpayers' money "will not be used to let people travel to states who chose to discriminate."

Becerra's office didn't know often state employees currently visit the banned states. A spokesman for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kentucky's Senate Bill 17, known as the “Charlie Brown Law,” was passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Bevin in May. It takes effect on June 29. The law preserves students’ rights to political and religious speech in schools, and was inspired, in part, by an incident in which a Kentucky county school removed the scripture verse from their “Charlie Brown Christmas” play due to the threat of a lawsuit. 

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin’s press secretary released the following statement in response to California's travel ban:

"It is fascinating that the very same West Coast liberals who rail against the President’s executive order, that protects our nation from foreign terrorists, have now contrived their own travel ban aimed at punishing states who don’t fall in lockstep with their far-left political ideology."

Sponsors of the bill say it does not suggest or permit discrimination, it simply protects religious speech. An ACLU spokesperson told multiple media outlets that the ban is an unforeseen consequence associated with passing the new law.
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