Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has signed an Executive Order banning official City of Seattle travel by employees to Mississippi in response to that state’s passage of a bill to revoke protections for LGBTQ people.
“Seattle will continue to speak out against injustice and stand with those who are fighting for equality,” said Mayor Murray. “This debate is settled in America and yet we continue to see states roll back civil rights protections for LGBTQ people. We must not allow discrimination to divide our nation. We strengthen our union when all people are treated equitably.”
The new Mississippi law allows employers to fire a person because of his or her sexual orientation, allows businesses and organizations to refuse to serve LGBTQ people, and other discriminatory practices, Murray's office said in a press release.
Murray has said he will continue to ban non-essential official travel by City employees to any state that passes laws to eliminate civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community. On March 28, Murray signed an Executive Order banning official City travel to North Carolina.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee joined Murray in banning official travel to Mississippi.
Inslee on Tuesday barred anything but essential travel to Mississippi on the public's dime.
He says the new law authorizes discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals including Washington residents who travel there. Inslee says it's the law of Washington state and the policy of his administration to demand equality for all persons.
