Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has
signed an order prohibiting city workers from traveling to North
Carolina over a recently approved anti-gay bill.
“I signed an order banning travel to
NC for DC Gov employes [sic],” Bowser tweeted last week. “We
stand w/ the LGBTQ community & against discrimination.”
North Carolina's 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. It effectively
nullified an LGBT protections ordinance set to take effect last week
in Charlotte.
Bowser joins Chicago Mayor Rahm
Emanuel, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and New
York City Mayor Bill De Blasio in implementing a ban on non-essential
travel to the state. The Portland City Council also approved a
similar ban.
Several states, including Oregon,
Washington, Connecticut and Vermont, have either banned travel or
condemned the bill's passage.