The Los Angeles City Council on Friday
voted to stop doing business with North Carolina and Mississippi over
laws in those states that target the LGBT community.
According to The
Los Angeles Times, the City Council voted unanimously in
favor of banning business that requires city resources with the
states.
Councilman Mike Bonin (pictured)
authored the resolution.
“I can guarantee you in these two
states that hate crimes are going to increase and people are going to
be beaten,” said Bonin. “And I can guarantee in these two states
that young kids struggling with their identity are going to be
bullied and some of them will ponder suicide. That's not what Los
Angeles stands for.”
North Carolina's law, House Bill 2,
prohibits cities from approving LGBT protections and bars students
attending public institutions from using the bathroom that does not
conform to their gender at birth.
Mississippi's law, House Bill 1523,
allows businesses to deny services to LGBT people based on their
“sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.”
The laws have spurred companies,
politicians and artists to speak out. PayPal
and Deutsche
Bank have halted expansion plans in North Carolina, while several
cities and states have instituted non-essential travel bans to the
states. Cirque
du Soleil on Friday canceled upcoming shows in North Carolina,
adding their voice to a growing list of artists protesting the laws.