[BwayDems] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- O'DONNELL CALLS ON GOV CUOMO TO BAN STATE-FUNDED TRAVEL TO LOUISIANA

[Callie Wilson]

NEWS FROM ASSEMBLY MEMBER DANIEL O'DONNELL

Contact: Callie Wilson, 206-898-2918; callieewilson at gmail.com
245 W 104th Street, New York, NY 10025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASSEMBLY MEMBER O'DONNELL CALLS ON GOVERNOR CUOMO TO BAN STATE-FUNDED
TRAVEL TO LOUISIANA FOLLOWING GOVERNOR JINDAL'S DISCRIMINATORY EXECUTIVE
ORDER

May 20, 2015 — Outraged over Governor Bobby Jindal’s executive order
yesterday to enable state-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT residents
of Louisiana, Assembly Member O’Donnell sent a letter calling on Governor
Andrew Cuomo to ban all non-essential state-funded travel to Louisiana. In
his letter, he praised Governor Cuomo for issuing such a ban when Indiana
passed a similarly discriminatory law, and requested the same action again:

"It’s time to instate a travel ban on Louisiana. Following the failure of
legislation there that would have enabled state-sponsored discrimination
against LGBT citizens under the guise of religious freedom, Governor Bobby
Jindal has issued an executive order seeking the same despicable ends as
the bill.

"When the state of Indiana passed legislation which similarly targeted its
LGBT citizens, I was very proud and appreciative that you banned
non-essential travel to the Hoosier state. It was a strong statement
demonstrating New York’s progressive leadership on human rights and the
belief that all citizens deserve to be treated equally—as our country’s
Constitution guarantees and founding fathers intended.

"I ask that you take this step again and ban non-essential state travel to
Louisiana. Our state’s employees should not be put in a situation where
they can be legally discriminated against or made to feel unsafe, and our
state must not support Governor Jindal’s campaign against LGBT individuals.
We must move our business to places that treat their citizens equally and
fairly."

In March of this year, Assembly Member O’Donnell advocated for a travel ban
against Indiana because of its own discriminatory law. At that time he
pointed out,

"This law comes on the heels of an important victory for the national
Marriage Equality movement. Indiana legalized same-sex marriage in October
2014. This is a hate-filled reaction to that law. Social change is not
linear, often involving one step forward, two steps back. However, we must
keep the momentum moving forward by speaking up and using our economic and
political power to express the overwhelming will of the majority of
Americans; equal protection of all people regardless of their sexual
orientation, gender, race, or religion."

###

Daniel O’Donnell, the first openly gay man elected to the New York State
Assembly, has been a progressive voice advocating fair and sensible
legislation since he was elected to represent the 69th District in 2002,
including the author and sponsor of New York State’s Marriage Equality Law,
which was signed into law in 2011. His district includes Manhattan Valley,
Morningside Heights, and the Upper West Side.
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