Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy
has banned non-essential travel for state workers to Mississippi over
passage of a law he's criticized as discriminatory.
The law, signed Tuesday by Mississippi
Governor Phil Bryant, allows religious organizations and businesses
related to the wedding industry to deny service to gay and
transgender people.
“Government should be in the practice
of eliminating discrimination – not embracing it. This law in
Mississippi is an active attempt to discriminate against the LGBTQ
community. We, as a state, cannot stand for that,” Malloy said in
a press release. “I am proud of Connecticut's continued
advancement of equality for all residents. Our state prides itself
on our diversity. We celebrate it. And we are a stronger, better
state as a result. This law, however, is simply rooted in backwards
thinking and backwards values. That's why we're taking action.”
Malloy has also banned state-funded
travel to North Carolina in response to passage of a law that
prohibits cities 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.
Bryant, a Republican, has defended the
law, saying it protects religious freedom in the state.