SACRAMENTO, California, April 3, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – California will no longer pick up the tab for state employees traveling to South Carolina, marking the 10th state formally rebuked by the Golden State for supposed LGBT “discrimination.”
Last summer, South Carolina enacted a law (paragraph 38.29) providing that regulations of faith-based adoption or foster agencies cannot discriminate on the basis that it “has declined or will decline to provide any service that conflicts with, or provide any service under circumstances that conflict with, a sincerely-held religious belief or moral conviction.”
The primary application of the rule is to protect religious groups from being forced to place children with same-sex households, for which South Carolina also secured a waiver from the Trump administration in January. A variety of social science literature indicates that children are best served by having both a mother and a father, as each sex brings distinct advantages to parenting, and children benefit from having a role model of their own sex and an example of the opposite sex to relate to.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday the California Attorney General’s office issued a press release alleging that the protection “enables private faith-based child-placing agencies to discriminate against those who do not conform to their religious beliefs or moral convictions, including members of the LGBTQ community.”
“The State of South Carolina recently enacted a measure that sanctions discrimination against families in the placement of children in need of homes,” Democrat Attorney General Xavier Becerra declared. “The State of California stands strongly against any form of discrimination. AB 1887 authorizes my office to make that promise real. Pursuant to AB 1887, California will now bar state-funded or sponsored travel to South Carolina.”
South Carolina recently enacted a law allowing child-placing agencies to discriminate against prospective parents. We stand strongly against any form of discrimination, so, effective April 15, California will restrict state-funded travel to South Carolina. https://t.co/yUhXt8y3gS pic.twitter.com/eodf91atly
— Xavier Becerra (@AGBecerra) April 2, 2019
South Carolina is the 10th state to which California has banned state-sponsored or reimbursed travel, CBS Sacramento reported. It follows Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas, all of whom have enacted measures that California leaders have deemed “anti-LGBT.”
So far, the office of South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster is responding to California’s snub with amused defiance.
En route to EMD headquarters to figure out if the governor needs to declare a state of emergency. How will South Carolina recover? https://t.co/1lmn1P40SQ
— Brian Symmes (@BrianSymmes) April 2, 2019
“If Attorney General Becerra was interested in the truth, he would know this is all about protecting South Carolinians’ religious freedom – regardless of their faith,” McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes responded, The State reported. “While he tries to score cheap political points, we’ll be more than happy to continue recruiting businesses that are leaving overregulated, high tax states like California to come to South Carolina and create opportunities for our people.”