FCO Warns UK Citizens Travelling to North Carolina and Mississippi



The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has issued a travel advisory for LGBT citizens travelling to North Carolina and Mississippi. 

 Following new laws, business owners in both states now have the right to discriminate against LGBT customers.

This will affect same-sex couples requiring wedding venues and service providers.
There have been a number of “religious liberty” laws passed in other states, too.  All are a response to the US Supreme Court decision to legalise same-sex marriage.
The BBC also reported that in North Carolina transgender people ‘must use public bathrooms according to the gender on their birth certificates’. 

 Mississippi has a similar law.
This latest round of legislation seems better suited to foreign despotism than the self-proclaimed ‘land of the free.’ 
The laws are a cause of embarrassment to the Obama administration.
The move could, however, prove costly for both states with companies threatening boycotts. It's likely, too, that there will be a reduction in federal funding. 

 The FCO advisory reads:
The US is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country. LGBT travellers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi. Before travelling please read our general travel advice for the LGBT community. 
This is deeply troubling news, and our thoughts are with the LGBT community both in Mississippi and North Carolina. 





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