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California Bans Official State Travel to Five States Due to ‘Bigotry’

State employees will not be permitted to travel on official business to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia.

California has taken a firm stance on LGBT rights, declaring that it will not fund state travel to five states due to their anti-LGBT laws, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday. The move bans the state from requiring employees to travel to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia, citing laws that discriminate against transgender youth. “Make no mistake: We’re in the midst of an unprecedented wave of bigotry and discrimination in this country,” Bonta said. “And the state of California is not going to support it.” Exceptions to the rule include travel to obtain grant funding or to conduct audits.

It isn’t the first time California has done this; it has banned state travel to 12 other states, as they all fall under Assembly Bill 1887. Oklahoma, which was put on the list last year, retaliated with a law prohibiting any non-essential state travel to California.