<a class="Link" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/california" target="_blank">California</a> lawmakers may reverse a<a class="Link" href="https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/groups/%20Grant%20Administration%20-%20Post%20Award/Documents/travel-ab1887-detail_0.pdf" target="_blank"> 2016 bill</a> that prohibits state-funded travel to 26 states with laws California says discriminate against LGBT people.

Democratic state Sen. Toni Atkins is spearheading the initiative. She wants to reverse the boycott over “unintended economic consequences,” and she said the ban has “<a class="Link" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/california-democrat-proposed-lifting-travel-ban-before-newsom-tour" target="_blank">unintentionally isolated the LGBTQ community.”</a>

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Atkins proposed repealing the law and replacing it with a bill to promote LGBT outreach in these states. The San Diego senator, who is gay, said most of the $583,000 designated for the campaign would be privately funded.


California’s A.B. 1887 was inspired by the North Carolina “bathroom ban,” which made it illegal for a person to enter a bathroom opposite the gender on their birth certificate. Those who have undergone sex reassignment surgery and updated their birth certificate are exempt. The Department of Justice argues that it violates Title IX of the Civil Rights Act.


In April, a <a class="Link" href="https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/o0189-16.pdf" target="_blank">city ordinance</a> in San Francisco similar to A.B. 1887 boycotting purportedly anti-LGBT states was repealed after seven years. The city’s plan to economically strain conservative states was ineffective, and a report found that the policy was increasing the city's expenses and administrative responsibilities. Officials agreed the policy did not produce the outcome they intended.

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A.B. 1887 has also proven to be problematic for many Black scholars in California, as the law is preventing them from collaborating with peer professionals who study in the South, where much of their research is grounded. To Black historians and scholars involved in academic dialogue surrounding Black American history, the majority of the South has been declared off-limits. Black educators and historians have no access to university funding for their research.


Sen. Atkins has come to the conclusion that the status quo isn’t working. “I thought, it’s now or never. How long do you sustain something like that?”

California lawmakers may reverse a 2016 bill that prohibits state-funded travel to 26 states with laws California says discriminate against LGBT people.{ai:summary}California lawmakers are considering reversing a 2016 bill that banned state-funded travel to 26 states with laws discriminating against the LGBTQ community. Democratic state Sen. Toni Atkins wants to repeal the law due to unintended economic consequences and propose a bill to promote LGBTQ outreach instead. The current ban has isolated the LGBTQ community and hindered academic collaboration for Black scholars in the South. #society