This weekend San Francisco officially bars taxpayer-funded travel to four states that have adopted anti-LGBT laws. The states – Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kansas – certainly deserve to be on the list; they are also the same states affected by a similar state law that went into effect January 1.
The ban prohibits non-essential travel by city workers to the four states and it also bans departments and agencies from entering into new contracts with businesses headquartered in those states. As existing contracts come up for review and renewal, the city needs to stand with business and cultural leaders against anti-LGBT legislation in those states.
There are numerous other states that already have anti-LGBT laws or allow discrimination. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Arizona, for example, does not have state law that supports equality in housing, employment, or schools. The same is true of Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, among others. There are also many states that do not support gender marker changes on identification documents, a major issue affecting transgender and non-binary people, especially since Donald Trump became president. Another 19 states have Medicaid exclusions and laws restricting LGBT topics in schools.
In addition, battles are brewing in legislatures around the country, including Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, and West Virginia, to enact discriminatory laws where none exist. According to HRC's State Equality Index, which was released in December, many states are "ramping up efforts to sanction discrimination against LGBTQ people by proposing state-level laws that would undermine existing protections, erode marital rights of legally-married same-sex couples, target transgender people – particularly youth – and limit the ability of cities and towns to pass their own inclusive laws."
That's exactly what happened last year in North Carolina with House Bill 2. The law not only requires trans people to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender assignment at birth, it also prohibits cities like Charlotte from enacting their own anti-discrimination laws. Of course, the fallout over HB 2 has been fierce, with sports leagues and other entities canceling games, concerts, and conventions. Just this week the NCAA threatened to remove all college sporting events for the next six years if HB 2 isn't repealed. That will cost the state millions of dollars – above the nearly $400 million the Tar Heel State has already lost because of the law.
San Francisco leaders should be proactive in adding anti-LGBT states to the city's travel ban list. The city's current budget is $9.6 billion – it can spend its money with companies in states that promote equality, rather than those that work to curtail it. Another possible benefit is keeping more of those dollars in the local, regional, or state economy.
With last year's election, Republicans now dominate state governments – 33 states have Republican governors and 32 have GOP-controlled legislatures. This does not bode well for equality measures this year. In fact, it will probably be several years before change is seen at the state level. That makes it imperative that cities take a stand. San Francisco has done this in a deliberative way, and other jurisdictions should follow suit.
Regionally, Oakland and San Jose should adopt similar travel bans and contracting bans. Leaders where travel bans already exist, like in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, as well as the cities of Santa Cruz and Watsonville, should now add contracting bans.
"State governments have a clear choice between sowing the seeds of division and discrimination or building an economy that works for everyone by fostering fairness and inclusion," HRC President Chad Griffin said in the state report. "Unfortunately, too many lawmakers have decided to target LGBTQ people for state-sanctioned discrimination and to interfere with local protections for workers, customers, and residents."
HRC can advance this fight with its 2018 Municipal Equality Index (It's leaving the index the same for 2017.). It should award points to cities and counties that restrict travel as well as contracting in states with anti-LGBT laws.
In this time of Trump and Republican threats to legalize discrimination against us at the national and state levels, San Francisco can send a powerful message with its checkbook. More and more companies are opting to include pro-LGBT policies in the workplace because it's good for recruitment and their success. Cities that understand this must join the effort to condemn discriminatory laws when they are passed by state legislatures.