Three major U.S. cities are protesting
an anti-gay bill approved last week by North Carolina lawmakers by
limiting travel to the state.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced on
Friday that he was barring city employees from non-essential travel
to the state.
San Francisco “will not subsidize
legally sanctioned discrimination,” Lee said in a statement.
On Monday, New York Mayor Bill De
Blasio and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, who is openly gay, followed suit.
“It is my hope for our nation that we
do not allow issues of discrimination to divide us,” Murray said.
“Our union is only made stronger when all Americans are treated
equitably.”
North Carolina lawmakers approved and
Republican Governor Pat McCrory signed into law House Bill 2 during a
one-day special session at a cost of $42,000 to taxpayers. The
legislation was a response to passage of an LGBT protections
ordinance in Charlotte set to take effect on April 1. House Bill 2
prohibits any city, town or municipality from enacting measures that
prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender
identity and bars students attending public institutions from using
the bathroom that does not conform to their gender at birth.