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Following Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued an order banning city employees from traveling to the state for official business.
The order comes after Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) urged Bowser to issue the ban. Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, religious minorities are protected from laws passed by the federal government, which would inadvertently lead to discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed the law yesterday, but has since said he intends to clear up the controversy over it, to ensure it won’t lead to discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Of course, this just makes Pence seem like he’s either confused by his own law or just misleading everyone about it.
Either way, no D.C. officials will be going to Indiana anytime soon on the city’s dime.
“Discrimination has no place in the District of Columbia, and our public employees should not be forced to travel to a place that prides itself on fueling anti-LGBTQ animosity,” Grosso wrote on his blog. “The blatant bigotry on display by Governor Pence and the legislature leads me to believe that Indiana is not a safe place for our public employees to travel. Our government should not support any jurisdiction that displays such bigotry, and the Mayor should ban all publicly financed travel to Indiana and stand firmly with our LGBTQ public servants and residents.”
Bowser’s ban, which you can read below, is effective immediately.
