New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has
reaffirmed his state's ban on taxpayer-funded travel to North
Carolina.
The ban was enacted to protest passage
of House Bill 2, which blocked cities from enacting LGBT protections
and prohibited transgender people from using the bathroom of their
choice in many buildings.
Lawmakers repealed the law in late
March and replaced it with House Bill 142. The new law leaves
bathroom regulation to the state and enacts a moratorium on local
LGBT protections until December 1, 2020.
“In New York, we believe that all
people – regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation
– deserve the same rights and protections under the law,” Cuomo
said in a statement. “From Stonewall to marriage equality, our
state has been a beacon of hope and equality for the LGBT community,
and we will not stand idly by as misguided legislation replicates the
discrimination of the past. As long as there is a law in North
Carolina that creates the grounds for discrimination against LGBT
people, I am barring non-essential state travel to that state.”
Other states, including California, are
also keeping their bans in place until the law is repealed entirely.