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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has voted to suspend all official travel to Texas and Florida after the two states took controversial steps targeting LGBTQ+ youth and their families.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate gender affirming treatments as child abuse. An appellate court has temporarily blocked the order from taking effect as a lawsuit works its way through the courts.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten to third grade.
“This is no time to be enacting more legislation sort of designed to encourage more harassment and suffering and that's exactly what the states of Texas and Florida have done," said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.
It’s not uncommon for the board to enact such travel bans when states pass laws that are at odds with the ones in L.A. and California, she said.
Exceptions will be made for trips in which the failure to travel would “seriously harm the county’s interests.”
The bans will only be lifted if the controversial law in Florida — or the order in Texas — is suspended or repealed.
