Last Monday, California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra added Idaho to a list of 11 other “LGBT discriminator” states where state-employee travel is banned. Idaho’s transgressions involved the recent passage of two laws that determine sex using biology, not gender identity. Becerra’s actions against Idaho are required by AB 1887, a 2016 California law that prohibits state-sponsored employee-travel to states with “discriminatory” LGBT laws.
Idaho’s HB 500, known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, restricts female sports to biological females, a policy that excluded males who identify as transgender women from participating. The other law, HB 509, requires Idaho birth certificates to reflect a person’s biological sex, not their gender identity.
“It is shameful that California wastes time persecuting other states whose laws reflect the biological reality about sex,” said California Family Council CEO Jonathan Keller. “Just this week we marked the anniversary of Title IX. Women’s sports exist because males have biological differences that give them an unfair advantage in competitions with women. Furthermore, government documents like birth certificates should record objective facts, not subjective gender identities based on self-declaration.”
Of course, the Attorney General characterizes his action differently. “Where states legislate discrimination, California unambiguously speaks out,” Becerra said in a statement. “The State of Idaho has taken drastic steps to undermine the rights of the transgender community, preventing people from playing sports in school or having documentation that reflects their identity. Let’s not beat around the bush: these laws are plain and simple discrimination. That’s why Idaho joins the list of AB 1887 discriminating states.”
The list of other states on California’s travel ban includes Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
