California Attorney General Xavier Becerra Makes Idaho a No-Go Zone

“California will restrict state-funded travel to Idaho as a result of two discriminatory bills signed into law in Idaho this year despite,” proclaims California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a June 22 statement. This action extends a travel ban already in place since 2016.

Four years ago, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1887, which restricted state-funded travel to North Carolina over its law specifying which public bathrooms transgender people could use. Becerra duly extended the ban to Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

Idaho now joins the no-go list, due to its “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” which bans transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s school sports. Bathroom restrictions supposedly run counter to guidance from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, a private organization that bans athlete-students from marketing their own name and image. Becerra did not explain why the NCAA should be an authority on gender controversies. 

According to Becerra’s June 22 statement, the travel ban includes California state agencies, departments, boards, authorities, and commissions, the University of California, the Board of Regents of the University of California, and the California State University. Each agency must consult the list consulting to comply with the travel and funding restrictions imposed by the law, which as the Sacramento Bee notes, includes exceptions for law enforcement and “tax collection.” 

When it comes to grabbing tax money, all bets are off. Despite state laws the Attorney General does not like, cops and tax collectors can plead the Fifth Dimension, go where they want to go, and do what they want to do. No double standards and it’s all about fairness.

Meanwhile, for background on sports gender controversies, check out Olympians Tamara and Irina Press of the Soviet Union.