NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, March 30, 2015, 12:43 PM
Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy joins the mayors of Seattle and San Francisco in a growing group of lawmakers to ban publicly funded travel to Indiana because of its new discrimination law.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy on Monday became the latest lawmaker to ban publicly funded travel to Indiana, due to the state’s controversial new "religious freedom" law that many say legalizes discrimination against the gay community.
“Because of Indiana's new law, later today I will sign an Executive Order regarding state-funded travel,” Malloy, a Democrat, wrote on his official Twitter account. “When new laws turn back the clock on progress, we can’t sit idly by. We are sending a message that discrimination won’t be tolerated.”
The planned order comes in response to a newly signed law in Indiana that effectively legalizes discrimination against same-sex couples by those who object on religious grounds.
Public servants, business leaders and citizens across the country have loudly protested the law, saying it merely provides legal protection for bigotry.
Over the weekend, the mayors of San Francisco and Seattle signed similar bans prohibiting city employees from visiting Indiana in an official capacity.
Ed Murray, the openly gay mayor of Seattle, released a statement Saturday saying that “discrimination has no place in our City – that’s just equality ‘101.’”
“I am ordering that none of our taxpayer dollars should go toward supporting this discriminatory law,” Murray said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also spoke out against the law, penning a guest column for The Washington Post, in which he said the bill “rationalizes injustice by pretending to defend something many of us hold dear.”
"They go against the very principles our nation was founded on, and they have the potential to undo decades of progress toward greater equality,” wrote Cook, who is openly gay.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act effectively legalizes discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual orientation by those who object on religious grounds.
Indiana’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which allows religious beliefs to be used as a defense for what many say is outright discrimination against same-sex couples and others, was signed into law by conservative Republican Gov. Mike Pence last week, prompting an outcry of criticism from the NCAA, Yelp, SalesForce and hundreds of protesters who marched outside the capitol building.
Pence, however, has remained unapologetic for and staunchly defensive of the legislation.
“We're not going to change the law," he said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “I was proud to sign it into law.”
However, Indiana Republican legislative leaders claimed Monday that they were working on adding language to the law to make it clear that it doesn’t allow discrimination against gays and lesbians.
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