Current:Home > Contact-usCanada issues US travel advisory warning LGBTQ+ community about laws thay may affect them-LoTradeCoin
Canada issues US travel advisory warning LGBTQ+ community about laws thay may affect them
View Date:2024-12-23 22:37:53
TORONTO (AP) — Canada this week updated its travel advisory to the U.S., warning members of the LGBTQ+ community that some American states have enacted laws that may affect them.
The country’s Global Affairs department did not specify which states, but is advising travelers to check the local laws for their destination before traveling.
“Since the beginning of 2023, certain states in the U.S. have passed laws banning drag shows and restricting the transgender community from access to gender-affirming care and from participation in sporting events,” Global Affairs spokesman Jérémie Bérubé said Thursday in an emailed statement.
“Outside Canada, laws and customs related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics can be very different from those in Canada,” the statement added. “As a result, Canadians could face certain barriers and risks when they travel outside Canada.”
Bérubé said no Canadians in the U.S. have complained to Global Affairs of how they were treated or kept from expressing their opinions about LGBTQ+ issues.
The Human Rights Campaign — the largest U.S.-based organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans — in June declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S.
The NAACP in May issued a travel advisory for Florida warning potential tourists about recent laws and policies championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, including bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors, target drag shows, restrict discussion of personal pronouns in schools and force people to use certain bathrooms.
In Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders this year signed a law prohibiting transgender people at public schools from using the restroom that matches their gender identity. Similar laws have been enacted in states such as Alabama, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Asked about the travel advisory change this week, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said travel advisories issued by Global Affairs Canada are based on advice from professionals in the department whose job it is to monitor for particular dangers.
“Every Canadian government needs to put at the center of everything we do the interests — and the safety — of every single Canadian and every single group of Canadians,” Freeland said.
She did not say whether her government had discussed the matter with its U.S. counterpart.
“It sounds like virtue-signaling by Global Affairs,” said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor emeritus at the University of Toronto.
“In no U.S. state, to my knowledge, has any government charged or discriminated against an LGBTQ+ traveler because of their sexual identity or orientation. This all strains the credibility of the department,” he added.
Helen Kennedy, the executive director of Egale Canada, an LGBTQ+ rights group in Toronto, commended the Canadian government for putting out the advisory.
“There are 500 anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation making their way through various state legislatures at the moment,” Kennedy said. “It’s not a good image on the U.S.”
Kennedy also said Canada needs to take a serious look at how safe LGBTQ+ communities are in Canada as similar policies have been recently enacted in the provinces of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, which now require parental consent when children under 16 years want to use different names or pronouns at school.
A U.S. Statement Department spokesperson said the United States is committed to promoting tolerance, inclusion, justice and dignity while helping to advance the equality and human rights of LGBTQ+ persons.
“We all must continue to do this work with our like-minded partners not only in the United States, not only in Canada, but throughout the world,” the spokesperson said in an email.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- Kraft Heinz stops serving school-designed Lunchables because of low demand
- After hearing, judge mulls extending pause on John Oates’ sale of stake in business with Daryl Hall
- Top world leaders will speak at UN climate summit. Global warming, fossil fuels will be high in mind
- NFL Week 13 picks: Can Cowboys stay hot against Seahawks?
- Mattel says it ‘deeply’ regrets misprint on ‘Wicked’ dolls packaging that links to porn site
- 'Here we go!': Why Cowboys' Dak Prescott uses unique snap cadence
- Southern Charm's Olivia Flowers Details Difficult First Holidays 10 Months After Brother's Death
- Netflix Games to roll out three Grand Theft Auto games in December
- Vegas Sphere reports revenue decline despite hosting UFC 306, Eagles residency
- Florida man turns $20 bill into nearly $4 million after winning Gold Rush lottery game
Ranking
- A pair of Trump officials have defended family separation and ramped-up deportations
- 11 civilians are killed in an attack by gunmen in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province
- Many Americans have bipolar disorder. Understand the cause, treatment of this condition.
- New York punished 2,000 prisoners over false positive drug tests, report finds
- 2 weeks after Peanut the Squirrel's euthanasia, owner is seeking answers, justice
- Mississippi Supreme Court delays decision on whether to set execution date for man on death row
- Report: Belief death penalty is applied unfairly shows capital punishment’s growing isolation in US
- Maine will give free college tuition to Lewiston mass shooting victims, families
Recommendation
-
Deion Sanders doubles down on vow to 99-year-old Colorado superfan
-
Veterans fear the VA's new foreclosure rescue plan won't help them
-
Many Americans have bipolar disorder. Understand the cause, treatment of this condition.
-
Report: Belief death penalty is applied unfairly shows capital punishment’s growing isolation in US
-
Oklahoma school district adding anti-harassment policies after nonbinary teen’s death
-
Las Vegas man accused of threats against Jewish U.S. senator and her family is indicted
-
The Golden Bachelor Finale: Find Out If Gerry Turner Got Engaged
-
Congressmen ask DOJ to investigate water utility hack, warning it could happen anywhere