Malloy bans state trips to Indiana in wake of gay discrimination law Governor's executive order comes in response to controversial law

Connecticut player Ryan Boatright and head coach Kevin Ollie, center, celebrates with his team after their 60-54 victory over Kentucky in the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game Monday, April 7, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. less Connecticut player Ryan Boatright and head coach Kevin Ollie, center, celebrates with his team after their 60-54 victory over Kentucky in the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game ... more Photo: David J. Phillip, AP Photo/David J. Phillip Photo: David J. Phillip, AP Photo/David J. Phillip Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Malloy bans state trips to Indiana in wake of gay discrimination law 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

HARTFORD -- Connecticut is boycotting Indiana.

Responding to Indiana's controversial new "religious freedom" law that allows businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy banned all state-sponsored travel to the Hoosier State.

The governor signed an executive order Monday afternoon, but announced his intention on Twitter earlier in the day.

"When new laws turn back the clock on progress, we can't sit idly by," he tweeted. "We are sending a message that discrimination won't be tolerated."

The order directs all state departments and agencies, including the University of Connecticut, to immediately review all plans for state-paid trips to places "that create the grounds for such discrimination and to bar any such publicly funded travel unless necessary for the enforcement of state law, to meet contractual obligations, or for the protection of public health, welfare and safety."

The order immediately threw into question whether anyone from UConn's men's basketball team would attend the NCAA Final Four activities this weekend in Indianapolis.

While the UConn men's team has been eliminated from the tournament this year, as reigning NCAA champions men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie and others were likely to attend the weekend games.

Warde Manuel, UConn athletic director, said the department would announce its plans Tuesday on whether Ollie will attend Final Four-related events.

"Kevin Ollie and members of his staff are scheduled to attend the National Association of Basketball Coaches Convention this week in Indianapolis," UConn athletics spokesman Michael Enright said in a statement. "Plane flights and hotels have already been reserved and purchased. The convention is held annually at the site of the Final Four, but is not an NCAA event. After we receive additional clarification on the Executive Order a decision will be made."

Stephanie Reitz, spokeswoman for UConn President Susan Herbst, said officials were studying the issue.

"UConn learned of the executive order today, as did other state agencies, and we need to understand more about how it will affect the university before we can discuss its potential implications in detail," Reitz said Monday in a statement.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a measure last week that prohibits state laws that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.

The proposal has prompted a backlash, causing businesses and organizations across the country to cancel future travel plans to Indiana and table expansion plans.

"There is no way to interpret what has happened in Indiana over the last several months as anything other than the desire to establish a legal form of discrimination, period. Period," Malloy said Monday. "What happened here was a set of laws were passed and were signed by a governor who would not, as of yesterday, say that he would outlaw discrimination. A law was signed by that governor that does nothing more than legitimize discrimination against Connecticut citizens when they travel to that state. We have decided to stand up and fight that."

Jennifer C. Pizer, law and policy project director at Lambda Legal, the LGBT rights organization, said on the organization's website that Pence has been "deceiving" his state and the nation about the Indiana bill, called SB 101.

"He said that SB 101 isn't intended to allow discrimination against LGBT people, but amendments to ensure that would be true were repeatedly rejected during the legislative process," Pizer wrote. "If he honestly means what he continues to say, then he and the legislature immediately must work together to make it so."

Indiana's Republican legislative leaders said Monday they are working on adding language to make it clear it doesn't discriminate against gays and lesbians.

"People have the right to believe what they believe," Malloy said Monday, calling for a repeal. "They don't have the right to discriminate based on what they believe. It now has a history, and the history is that the legislators who voted for this legislation, most particularly voted to allow discrimination. That's a black mark against the state of Indiana and quite frankly it's a black mark against the United States of America to have that happen here. It was open. It was transparent. It was direct. Yesterday, when the governor was asked on three separate occasions whether he thought discrimination should be outlawed, he was unable to come up with an answer. I have an answer. Discrimination of citizens in Connecticut is illegal and we will make sure that those things don't happen in our own state. And when citizens of Connecticut travel to any other state, they deserve the same treatment that they would receive in our state."

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