Citing LGBT discrimination, California bans state travel to Kentucky

Thomas Novelly and Associated Press | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption California bans travel to Texas and other states The Attorney General of California is blocking state funded travel to Texas, Alabama, South Dakota and Kentucky for passing legislation that will discriminate against the LGBT Community.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to more specifically define what Senate Bill 17 accomplishes.

California's attorney general blocked state-funded travel to Kentucky and three other states on Thursday in response to what he considers anti-LGBT rights laws enacted this year.

In Kentucky, the ban has to do with a law signed by Gov. Matt Bevin. The law, passed as Senate Bill 17, is designed to reinforce students’ constitutional right to express religious and political views in public schools and universities. However, the bill also says religious and political student organizations cannot be hindered or discriminated against for the way they conduct their internal affairs or how they select their leaders and members. Critics say those provisions could be used to let student groups prevent LGBTQ students from joining their ranks.

That law could have indirect repercussions on the LGBT community in one of the nation's more gay-friendly cities, said Chris Hartman, the director of Louisville's Fairness Campaign.

"This is a clear example of the unforeseen consequences that even a vaguely anti-LGBT bill can have," Hartman said. "This is a bill that we opposed, and here we have a real-world economic consequence of passing this bill."

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Civil rights groups worry the law, which goes into effect this summer, could lead to scenarios in which LGBTQ students are prevented from joining a Christian club led by students who disagree with homosexuality.

The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Albert Robinson, R-London, who told the Courier-Journal in March that it affirms students' constitutional right to express religious and political views in public schools. He refuted the California attorney general's decision in an interview Friday and defended the legislation.

"I'm disappointed that a person of that caliber would make a decision on a bill that they have not read or do not understand," Robinson said. "If a Bible group in a school tried to exclude a gay group, they would not only be violating the Constitution, they'd be violating God's law too. It would be unchristian."

Woody Maglinger, press secretary for Bevin's office, called the California Attorney General's actions hypocritical in a statement emailed to the Courier-Journal.

"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," the statement said.

Louisville has been widely accepted as an LGBT-friendly city.

Chris Poytner, spokesman for Mayor Greg Fischer, would not comment on the California decision but said the Human Rights Campaign has given Louisville a perfect score in LGBT friendliness for the past two years.

In 2015, Louisville ranked 11th in the country for percentage of gay residents, and the University of Louisville has been named one of the most LGBTQ-friendly campuses in the South by Campus Pride Index.

Hartman previously told the Courier-Journal that gays and lesbians have flocked to Louisville since 1999, when it became one of the first cities in the South to have a comprehensive law barring discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation.

"This is a place where people feel comfortable being themselves," he previously said.

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Besides Kentucky, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra added Texas, Alabama and South Dakota 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.

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

It's unclear what practical effect California's travel ban will have. The state law contains exemptions for some trips, such as travel needed to enforce California law and to honor contracts made before 2017. Travel to conferences or out-of-state training are examples of trips that could be blocked. Becerra's office couldn't provide information about how often state employees have visited the newly banned states.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Reporter Thomas Novelly at tnovelly@courier-journal.com, call him at 502-582-4465. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

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