NCCo bans government travel to Indiana

New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon on Wednesday signed an executive order banning government travel to Indiana over the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The county joins several other government entities protesting the law that has been criticized by those who fear the included protections for businesses and people acting on religious beliefs will promote discrimination of gays and lesbians.

The law was signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence last week. Pence has since denied condoning discrimination is the intent of the law and has signaled his will to change it.

Gordon's order calls for all facets of county government to bar any requests for county funded or sponsored travel to Indiana unless there is a contractual, health or safety need.

"We are reviewing travel plans for all of our employees right now," Gordon said adding he wasn't aware of any imminent government trips to the state. "It is more sending a message out to everybody."

Gordon's order calls the law is a "backdoor mechanism to justify discrimination."

"Indiana just repealed 50 years of progress in civil rights laws and now can discriminate broadly based on religious belief and we want to send a message on behalf of New Castle County," said Chief Administrative Officer David Grimaldi who served as witness to Gordon signing the order.

The order also notes the intent to push an ordinance to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation within county government.

"We would not have the authority to apply this to the private sector but we would be setting a standard," said Councilman Penrose Hollins who intents to sponsor the ordinance. "We have to stand tall and make certain that everyone is treated equal."

Gov. Jack Markell's office said on Wednesday they have no intention of following New York, Connecticut and other states in banning state travel though "the Governor could not disagree more with the approach taken in Indiana."

"His approach on this issue has always been to focus on his job -- to ensure Delaware is a vibrant and welcoming place for all people. For more than a decade, he has argued that prohibiting discrimination is not only morally right, but also important for Delaware's economy, which requires 'the best people no matter what their sexual orientation is,'" Markell's press secretary, Kelly Bachman, said in an email Wednesday.

The state passed legislation recognizing same-sex civil unions in 2011. Delaware became the 11th state to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2013 and saw its first same-sex marriage two months later.

The Associated Press and Staff writer Jonathan Offredo contributed to this article.

Contact Staff Writer Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.