Culture-War Travel Bans Are Counterproductive

It’s now illegal to use California state funds to travel to eight other states: Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. The travel ban, which went into effect Jan. 1 and expanded last month, punishes states with laws that run afoul of California’s anti-discrimination statute covering sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

Texas, for instance, has a new law allowing private child welfare groups that receive state money to cite “sincerely held religious beliefs” in declining to place children with certain types of families, including gay couples or single parents. Kansas allows student religious groups to require members or leaders to adhere to specific doctrines or conduct rules, including those about sex. That may sound like an inoffensive measure, but California, by contrast, requires officially recognized student groups to adopt an “all comers” policy that lets any currently enrolled student join or serve as an officer.