California may soon lift a ban on state-funded travel to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws and instead focus on an advertising campaign to bring anti-discrimination messages to red states.
California started banning official travel to states with laws it deemed discriminatory against LGBTQ+ people in 2017, starting with Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee. Since then, the list has grown to include a total of 26 states, most of them Republican-led, following a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation these past few years.
The prohibition has prevented elected officials, state workers and university scholars from traveling to more than half of the country using the state’s money. That has posed a significant challenge to sports teams at public colleges and universities, which have had to find alternative funding sources to pay for their road games in states like Arizona and Utah. It has also complicated some of the state’s other policy goals, like using state money to pay for people who live in other states to travel to California for abortions.
California lawmakers in the state Assembly on Monday passed legislation to end the travel ban. The bill, introduced by state Senate leader Toni Atkins, would also establish an outreach and advertising campaign in states on the travel ban list to promote pro-LGBTQ+ messages. Atkins, who is a lesbian, said the travel ban has helped raise awareness about many anti-LGBTQ+ issues, but it has also led to unintended consequences.
university scholars from traveling to more than half of the country using the state’s money. That has posed a significant challenge to sports teams at public colleges and universities, which have had to find alternative funding sources to pay for their road games in states like Arizona and Utah.
Umm… why the fuck are state dollars being used for college sports teams?
Tuition isn’t free, why is the taxpayer footing the bill?
THANK YOU. Honestly the amount of taxpayer money our educational institutions spend in actual games is ridiculous. Meanwhile the physics department at my local CalState school had to cancel classes earlier this year due to a heat wave – their building doesn’t have A/C.
Yeah, I was reading through this and saw:
The prohibition has prevented elected officials, state workers and university scholars from traveling to more than half of the country using the state’s money.
and thought, “wow, that’s really unfortunate”. Then I saw:
That has posed a significant challenge to sports teams at public colleges and universities
and thought “ah, there it is, the real motivation for this”.
State college, state college sports program. I don’t see an issue.
Where I see an issue is when the sports program gets more attention and funding than the academic programs. Students should be students first, athletes second.
The issue is that these institutions charge tuition yet still receive taxpayer dollars.
It should be one or the other.
I don’t see why it should be all or nothing. The split/pricing definitely needs some work, but having higher education be subsidized but not completely funded by the state is pretty reasonable.
Why should they get taxpayer money to waste it on sports? To appease meatheads who don’t belong in college in the first place.
Why should they get taxpayer money and still charge tuition? To make rich people richer faster.
Why should they get taxpayer money and still charge tuition?
Because if they didn’t tuition would be even higher.
Feel like the intent was right but they need to mulligan this idea. It’s probably better to provide people incentives to leave those states and otherwise make strong arm policies against providing aid to the governments of those states.
It’s probably better to provide people incentives to leave those states
I think it’s better to convince the people in those states to vote for better policies.
I have faimly in at least three of those states… it’s funny you think that A) they’re going to vote at all and B) that they vote based on information and facts. But also yes we need to empower people
You are giving conservatives way too much credit. You cannot convince a conservative to just start being a human. It’s just not in them to be human.
Lol, trying to dictate to half of US states wasn’t working?
I’m not a math whiz, but I only count one state: CA. Everyone else was being encouraged the same way the drinking age is 21 across the country: you can decide for yourself, but if you want their money, play ball.
I think he said that California was trying to dictate half of the other states.
Yep.
Guess a bunch of people like to see CA dictate to half of all other states.
Authoritarian much?
