Mayor Ed Murray—along with the mayors of Portland, San Francisco, and Oakland—has reversed the ban on city-funded travel to Indiana he imposed late last month, Murray’s office announced today.
Murray’s boycott, and a statewide ban Gov. Jay Inslee imposed and then rescinded on Friday, came in response to a so-called “religious freedom” law passed in Indiana that could have allowed businesses to refuse service to LGBT people. Inslee, Murray, and others are rolling back their boycotts in response to an amendment to the law stating that it can’t be used to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
In his announcement today, Murray (sort of) acknowledged what Dan has pointed out here on Slog: Amending the “religious freedom” law doesn’t actually prevent discrimination in Indiana because the state has no statewide legal protections preventing discrimination against LGBT people in housing, employment, or public accommodation.
“While the most egregious parts of the law were changed,” Murray said in a statement today, “LGBT people still face a tough reality in Indiana and in many other places throughout the country. Indiana needs a comprehensive civil rights law like Washington’s, which protects people from discrimination regardless of who they are or who they love… Seattle stands in solidarity with everyone who fights for recognition and equal protections under the law. I realize LGBT people in Indiana face a government whose mission was clear—they wanted to legalize discrimination in Indiana—and to some degree they have. Yet, rarely does wholesale change happen overnight. It is important that we celebrate these small victories as we advance toward our ultimate goal of full equity for all.”
