Washington governor bans state travel to North Carolina

OLYMPIA – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has barred non-essential state-funded travel to North Carolina because of the state’s new law that prevents local governments from protecting people based on sexual orientation and gender identity when they use public accommodations such as hotels.

Inslee announced the travel ban Tuesday and praised Washington’s law that requires buildings open to the public to allow transgender people to use the bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. In North Carolina, the law was spurred by a Charlotte ordinance that allowed transgender people to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity.

An attempt to reverse Washington’s rule in the state Legislature this year was voted down in the Republican-controlled Senate. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Monday banned city employee travel to North Carolina.