Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic Joins Dane County in Call for Indiana Travel Ban
Says Milwaukee County Taxpayer Dollars Should Not Be Spent in Indiana Due to State’s Discriminatory New “Religious Freedom” Law
Milwaukee County would join other state and local governments, including Dane County, in boycotting travel to Indiana due to a recently passed “religious freedom” law that uses religion as an excuse to discriminate. County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic is simultaneously requesting action along with Dane County Supervisors.
In addition to Dane County, several state and local governments, including Connecticut, New York and Washington along with the cities of Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and Seattle, have announced government-subsidized travel bans to Indiana after Gov. Mike Pence recently signed the measure, which bans all Indiana laws that “substantially burden” people’s ability to follow their religious beliefs when it comes to such matters as treatment of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people.
“Even the Indianapolis Star and the Mayor of Indianapolis have denounced this law,” Dimitrijevic said.
“I call on County Executive Chris Abele to issue an executive order banning all tax-subsidized travel to Indiana by Milwaukee County employees. If he does not act, then the County Board should take action through my resolution.”
Companies such as Accenture, Eli Lilly, Levi Strauss and Co. have also issued company bans on doing business in Indiana. Dimitrijevic invited companies in Indiana to re-locate to Milwaukee County.
“We value fairness and equality in Milwaukee County,” Dimitrijevic said. “We have been on the right side of history by adopting domestic partnership benefits and a nondiscrimination ordinance I authored.
“Our taxpayer dollars should not be used to support bigotry, and sitting idly by without action may aid this epidemic. We are the most diverse community in Wisconsin, and I’m sure Indiana companies would benefit from locating in an atmosphere of tolerance.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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