Cuomo Institutes Indiana Travel Restrictions for N.Y. State Employees
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo lev radin / Shutterstock.com
New York’s governor is turning up the heat on Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is turning up the heat on Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
On Tuesday, Cuomo announced a ban on taxpayer-funded travel to the Hoosier State effective immediately, a reaction to Indiana’s controversial new religious objections law that has sparked significant concern that it will open the door to state-sanctioned discrimination of the LGBT and other communities.
"Today, I direct all agencies, departments, boards and commissions to immediately review all requests for state funded or state sponsored travel to the State of Indiana and to bar any such publicly funded travel that is not essential to the enforcement of state law or public health and safety,” Cuomo said in a statement.
"New York State has been, and will continue to be, a leader in ensuring that all LGBT persons enjoy full and equal civil rights. With this action, we stand by our LGBT family members, friends and colleagues to ensure that their rights are respected," he said.
Cuomo’s action follows similar Indiana travel ban declarations from the mayors of San Francisco and Seattle and the governor of Connecticut.
Pence, during a Tuesday morning press conference, reiterated earlier comments that though he still supports the Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, he hopes that it will be clarified with amendments.
"I am calling on the General Assembly to send me a bill that focuses on the issue here—that focuses on the smear that's been leveled against the law and against the people of Indiana," Pence said, according to National Journal. "And that is that, somehow through our legislative process, we enacted legislation that created a license to discriminate."
Pence said that he does not support extending civil rights protections in the state to include sexual orientation or gender identity, calling that a separate issue.
On Monday, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard called on Pence and state lawmakers to extend those protections, saying that Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act sends the wrong message about the openness and tolerance in his local government and community.
(Photo by lev radin / Shutterstock.com)
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