New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has banned all state-funded non-essential travel to Mississippi after the Southern state passed a religious freedom bill that has been called discriminatory against gays and lesbians.

"Discrimination is not a New York value. We believe our diversity is our greatest strength, and we will continue to reject the politics of division and exclusion," Cuomo said in a statement. "This Mississippi law is a sad, hateful injustice against the LGBT community, and I will not allow any non-essential official travel to that state until it is repealed."

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed the bill Tuesday in an effort to "protect sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions of individuals, organizations and private associations from discriminatory action by state government."

Under HB 1523, religious organizations will be able to deny LGBT people marriage, adoption or foster care services; deny employment protections; or refuse to sell or rent them property. It would also allow a host of wedding providers, including photographers and caterers, to deny their services.

The legislation, which has been criticized by an array of business and civil rights groups, goes into effect July 1.

New York is the first state to ban any unnecessary travel to Mississippi in response to the legislation. Cuomo's order mandates that all New York state "agencies, departments, boards and commissions...immediately review all requests for state funded or state sponsored travel to the state of Mississippi, and bar any such publicly funded travel that is not essential to the enforcement of state law or public health and safety."

Cuomo has previously signed orders limiting state-funded travel to North Carolina and Indiana after the passage of similar religious freedoms legislation.