The city of San Francisco is protesting
an anti-gay bill approved by North Carolina lawmakers by limiting
travel to the state.
Mayor Ed Lee on Friday banned city
employees from non-essential travel to the state.
In a statement, Lee said that the city
“will not subsidize legally sanctioned discrimination.”
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory on
Wednesday signed into law House Bill 2, which bars any city, town or
municipality from enacting measures that prohibit discrimination
based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law also makes
North Carolina the first state in the nation to prohibit students in
public schools from using the bathroom that does not conform to their
gender at birth. Similar attempts in South Dakota and Tennessee
failed this legislative session.
The legislation was a response to
passage of an LGBT protections ordinance in Charlotte set to take
effect on April 1. State lawmakers held a one-day special session at
a cost of $42,000 to pass House Bill 2.