Muriel Bowser, the mayor of the District of Columbia, has banned all city-funded government travel to the state of Tennessee.
The order came after Tennessee’s passage of Senate Bill 1556, also known as House Bill 1840, in which counselors and therapists have immunity from liability if they want to decline service to clients whose goals or behaviors may conflict with the counselors’ principles.
Click here to read the full order.
The mayor’s order stated the bill allows therapists to “discriminate against persons seeking professional counseling, and could be particularly harmful for the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) communities.”
Mayor Bowser said it’s in the government’s interest to protect the rights and liberties of those in the LGBTQ community, and she added D.C.’s laws and policies support inclusiveness and respect for that community.
Due to those circumstances, the mayor said no government employee in D.C. will be allowed to approve official travel to Tennessee pending the time the bill has been “permanently enjoined, repealed or amended.”
