New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has
signed an executive order that prohibits state entities from doing
business with any company that promotes or tolerates discrimination.
Cuomo announced the order at Saturday's
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Greater New York Gala, where he also
promised New York would lead the nation on ending the AIDS epidemic
and announced plans to introduce legislation this session that would
put an end to the so-called gay panic defense.
The Democrat said that his order was a
direct response to President Donald Trump's policies.
“The Trump administration gave the
attorney general a license to discriminate by interpreting 'religious
liberty' protections in the federal law. What that means is a
business can refuse to serve LGBTQ individuals because it violates
their religious beliefs. They did that. So, today I'm signing an
executive order prohibiting New York state government from doing any
business with any entity that discriminates against any New Yorker,
period,” Cuomo said at Saturday's event.
Cuomo also tweeted the news on Sunday.
“Today I signed an executive order banning all state agencies and
authorities from doing business with companies that promote or
tolerate discrimination. New York will fight every action this
federal administration takes that attempts to undo [the] progress we
have made.”