California is continuing to ban state-funded travel to places with laws perceived to discriminate against gay or transgender people, adding Oklahoma as the ban's ninth state, Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced in a press release on Friday.
The restrictions on Oklahoma were added after the state adopted a new law in 2016 allowing adoption agencies to refuse to work with members of the LGBT community, reports The Sacramento Bee.
California bans funding for state employees to travel to states with laws it perceives to be discriminatory. In addition to Oklahoma, Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas are included as places where California public employees can't go unless they are investigating a crime or tax dispute, complying with a grant, or are required to go through a court order.
"California will not use state resources to support states that pass discriminatory laws," Becerra said in his press release. "The law enacted in Oklahoma allows discrimination against LGBTQ children and aspiring LGBTQ parents who must navigate the adoption process. California taxpayers are taking a stand against bigotry and in support of those who would be harmed by this prejudiced policy."
The law will also prevents California State University and University of California systems from sending staff members or students to states on the banned list.
However, the public university systems are continuing to send athletic teams to those states for tournaments or games. UCLA's football team is scheduled to play at the University of Oklahoma on Sept. 8.
Republican Assemblyman Matt Harper has asked Becerra's office for a formal opinion on whether the law should apply to college sports.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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