Some of the hundreds of people who gathered outside the Indiana Statehouse on Saturday, March 28, 2015, for a rally against legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Mike Pence stand on the Statehouse's south steps during the 2-hour-long rally. The law's opponents say it could sanction discrimination against gay people. The law's supporters contend the discrimination claims are overblown and insist it will keep the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds. . (AP Photo/Rick Callahan)
DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO — San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer Monday night announced plans to block the use of municipal funds for employee travel to Indiana beginning next week if that state does not change or repeal the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which critics say allows discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.
Councilman Todd Gloria in a memo earlier Monday urged the mayor to issue an administrative order prohibiting city employees from using public funds to travel to Indiana "until this discriminatory law is amended or repealed."
In his initial response, the mayor balked at the request and did not address the issue of travel or city funds.
"As a national chair of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, I believe in equal rights for all. Discrimination has no place in our society. I join Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard in calling for this law to be amended or repealed," the Republican mayor said in a statement.
Later, his spokesman Matt Awbrey said in an email: "We've directed the City's Chief Operating Officer to take the necessary actions to restrict publicly funded travel by city employees to Indiana if the law is not amended or repealed by next week."
It was not known if any city employees had plans to travel to Indiana on city business in the near future.
Gloria, a Democrat who is gay, had noted that other cities such as San Francisco and Seattle have enacted such prohibitions. Connecticut and Washington state have taken similar action.
He wrote that "San Diego should join these other jurisdictions that have demonstrated their leadership for equality and let it be known that San Diego will rise up against these discriminatory practices taking place in our nation."
The Indiana law triggered controversy and protest shortly after Gov. Mike Pence signed the act last week. Some Indiana lawmakers have said they want to amend the law to make clear that it cannot be used to discriminate.
Pence, in an op-ed being published in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, said the law has nothing to do with limiting the rights of same-sex couples, even though critics say it could be used to allow businesses to legally refuse to serve people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
"I abhor discrimination. I believe in the Golden Rule that you should 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you,' " Pence wrote. "If I saw a restaurant owner refuse to serve a gay couple, I wouldn't eat there anymore."
Pence said his support for the law was driven by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which he said "renewed concerns about government infringement on deeply held religious beliefs."
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