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Los Angeles County has banned all official travel to Texas and Florida following a Board of Supervisors vote on Tuesday (April 5).
According to ABC 7, the ban was brought about due to highly-publicized policies directed at LGBTQ+ youth and families in Texas and Florida. The ban originally called for the suspension of all travel, but it was voted to "suspend all travel to the States of Texas and Florida for the conduct of County business unless the Chief Executive Officer determines that the failure to authorize such travel would seriously harm the County’s interests."
The motion from Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis comes after Texas and Florida both passed legislation in regards to the LGBTQ+ community. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said gender-affirming treatments provided to transgender youth should be investigated as child abuse. Health providers in Texas have since suspended treatments.
This order "flies in the face of all that we know about best practices when it comes to supporting children and young adults to discover who they are and feel secure in their sense of self," Kuehl and Solis said. They added "Caregivers who support youth with affirming care should in no way be labeled as abusive. This order is discriminatory, harmful and just plain cruel.''
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education Bill, which is also known as the "Don't Say Gay" law. This bill restricts instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, according to ABC 7.
This will "perpetuate a culture of bullying, secrecy, shame and fear. ... Schools should be spaces that foster open discussion, critical thinking, meaningful engagement and the safe exploration of ideas. The implementation of this bill would create an atmosphere that stifles such a culture and stifles learning itself," Kuehl and Solis wrote in the motion.
It was not made immediately clear what travel constitutes "official" travel and what specific areas officials will and won't be allowed to travel to in Texas and Florida.