Inslee, Murray ban official travel to Mississippi because of sweeping anti-gay law

Mayor Ed Murray: "Seattle will continue to speak out against injustice and stand with those fighting for equality." Mayor Ed Murray: "Seattle will continue to speak out against injustice and stand with those fighting for equality." Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Inslee, Murray ban official travel to Mississippi because of sweeping anti-gay law 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Gov. Jay Inslee and Mayor Ed Murray have barred state and Seattle city employees from traveling to Mississippi on official business, the second such ban in as many weeks resulting from legislation allowing discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Both Inslee and Murray issued similar orders last week after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed legislation that forbids cities and towns from enacting civil rights legislation safeguarding the rights of LGBT citizens.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Tuesday signed an even more sweeping statute, one that permits employers to fire workers because of their sexual orientation, and even to refuse service to LGBT customers at businesses.

"Seattle will continue to speak out against injustice and stand with those fighting for equality," said Murray. "This debate is settled in America and yet we continue to see states roll back civil-rights protections for LGBT people. We must not allow discrimination to divide our people."

The states that have sown the wind of discrimination are reaping the whirlwind.

PayPal announced on Tuesday that it will not go ahead with plans to put a global operations center in Charlotte, North Carolina, citing the recent law that bans civil rights protection for sexual orientation or gender identity. The ops center would have brought 400 jobs to the city.

Levi Strauss & Co. denounced the Mississippi law even as Gov. Bryant was signing it. "We believe #equality and nondiscrimination fosters talent and innovation," the company said in a tweet.

The Rt. Rev. Brian Seage, Episcopal bishop of Mississippi, said the Magnolia State is sending the wrong message to America.

"Our beloved state has struggled to move beyond its troubling past but, unfortunately, this legislation has placed Mississippi back in the crosshairs of critical public opinion," said the bishop.

Opponents of gay civil rights, reeling since the U.S. Supreme Court extended marriage equality to all 50 states, have taken heart at passage of the North Carolina and Mississippi laws.

As Gov. Bryant signed the Mississippi law, the National Organization for Marriage proclaimed a "tremendous victory against LGBT extremists who want to marginalize and punish Christians and other people of faith simply for professing the truth of marriage as God designed it, one man and one woman."

In Bishop Seage's very different sentiments, however: "The gracious arms of our Lord are open to all who seek Him. ... New life may be found when we cast out our fear and ground our actions in the love of Christ."

Selisse Berry, CEO of Out and Equal Workplace Advocates, added: "Discrimination against someone because of who they love or how they self-identify should not be permitted in any state."

But only a minority of states provide full or partial civil rights to the LGBT community.

"The reality is that our patchwork of local and state equality laws mean LGBTQ people and families remain vulnerable to violence, to being fired and losing their homes based on where they live, where they work and where they travel," said Kris Hermanns, executive director of the Pride Foundation.

A proposed federal law, the Equality Act, would extend civil rights protections. It has garnered little Republican support, meaning the 2016 election will determine its prospects.

Curiously, while Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders demonizes corporate America, major companies have endorsed the Equality Act.

Its backers in the business community include Amazon (very actively), Facebook, Google, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Intel and Nike.