As GOP officials continue to target the LGBTQ community with discriminatory legislation, some states have shown that they will clearly not support these efforts. California officials announced Monday that the state will ban state-funded travel to five states because of laws that are anti-LGBTQ in those places. The states include Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia. With the addition of these states, there are now 17 states under California’s state employee travel ban, which forbids travel except under special circumstances.

“On the anniversary of the Stonewall riots and amidst a wave of discriminatory laws passed in state legislatures across the country, California is announcing new additions to the state-funded travel restrictions list,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said.

He added: “It’s unfortunate that some politicians would rather demonize trans youth than focus on solving real issues like tackling gun violence, beating back this pandemic and rebuilding our economy.”

The ban comes under a law, Assembly Bill 1887, approved by the state legislature in 2016, which requires California to add states if they enact discriminating measures or remove protections for people on the basis of sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation, The New York Times reported. It began following the backlash against states that attempted to pass “bathroom bills,” or bills that aimed to prevent transgender people from using restrooms that aligned with their gender identity.

According to CNN, while the attorney general’s office said the ban applies to all state-funded travel, exceptions include travel required to maintain grant funding or licensure, or for auditing and revenue collection purposes. Personal travel is not included in the ban.

“It’s ultimately up to each California agency, including universities, to make determinations about the steps they’ll need to take to comply with AB 1887,” the California attorney general’s office told CNN.

According to Bonta, all five states that were added Monday introduced bills in their legislature this year that prevent transgender women and girls from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity, block access to “life-saving care or otherwise limit the rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community.”

“Make no mistake: We’re in the midst of an unprecedented wave of bigotry and discrimination in this country — and the State of California is not going to support it,” Bonta said. “When states discriminate against LGBTQ+ Americans, we take action.”

Not only is the ban in place to show that the state does not support these discriminatory policies, but according to Evan Low, a California lawmaker who helped to write the ban, it is in place to keep state workers safe and out of situations where they may face discrimination, the Times reported.

While it’s unclear what impact California’s ban alone may have on the states in question, experts noted that as other states and organizations follow suit, the effects could heavily impact a state’s economy.

“These cities are all dying for people to come back — to go to the bars, to go to events,” said Richard C. Auxier, a researcher at the Tax Policy Center. He noted the impact that travel bans, tournaments moving in protest, and performers refusing to play gigs in certain areas had on a state economy.

Advocates have called 2021 a record-breaking year for anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender legislation proposed in more than a dozen states, Politico reported. At least 117 bills have been introduced in the current legislative session that targets the transgender community, according to the Human Rights Campaign, one of the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy groups.

As states nationwide continue to enable laws against LGBTQ youth, the California ban announcement comes as a form of hope.

“California’s announcement today shows that states passing anti-transgender laws will face real world consequences for their cruel actions. The legislatures that have enacted these laws are choosing to trade away economic opportunities in order to target transgender young people based with no pretext,” Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David told CNN.

Following the new additions Monday, the 17 states banned for state employee travel by California include:

Alabama


Arkansas


Florida


Idaho


Iowa


Kansas


Kentucky


Mississippi


Montana


North Carolina


North Dakota


Oklahoma


South Carolina


South Dakota


Tennessee


Texas


West Virginia

“The states are a part of a recent dangerous wave of discriminatory new bills signed into law in states all across the country,” Bonta said.