Seattle Mayor Ed Murray signs order banning city employee travel to North Carolina
Mar 28, 2016, 3:07 PM | Updated: 3:24 pm
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray sent a threat via text to Councilmember Sally Bagshaw over The Jungle and how to deal with it. (AP)
(AP)
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray signed an executive order Monday banning travel to North Carolina for official business by City of Seattle employees. It is a response to that state’s passage of a bill that revoked civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community.
“It is my hope for our nation that we do not allow issues of discrimination to divide us,” Murray said. “Our union is only made stronger when all Americans are treated equitably.”
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Seattle’s executive order specifically target’s North Carolina’s recently passed legislation.
An Executive Order prohibiting the use of City funds for travel by all City employees on City business to the State of North Carolina after passage of H.B. 2 until further notice and reaffirming this Administration’s continued commitment to civil rights and ensuring equity for all people in Seattle and beyond.
Murray also committed to signing additional Executive Orders to ban city travel to any state that follows in North Carolina’s footsteps.
North Carolina’s house bill overrides existing LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances in the state and bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity. The law also ends the longstanding right for any group receiving protections under the law — including women and people of color — to enforce their rights in state courts.
Murray is not alone in condemning the bill, with the mayor of San Francisco also restricting travel for city employees, and corporations such as Google, Facebook, the NBA and NCAA voicing opposition.
