Groups in Hawai‘i want government travel bans to 20 states, citing public employee safety

Eleven Hawai‘i organizations have sent letters to state and county officials – including Mayor Derek Kawakami – requesting government travel bans to states that have blocked access to health care, including but not limited to access to abortion services and gender-affirming care.

The 11 organizations that co-signed the letter to Gov. Josh Green; mayors Kawakami, Blangiardi, Bissen and Roth; State Board of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi; and University of Hawai‘i President David Lassner requesting the government travel bans are:

Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center, Hep Free Hawai‘i, IATSE 665, Labor Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Pilina Center for Wellbeing, Pride at Work – Hawai‘i, Project Koa Yoga LLC, Rainbow Family 808, Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and Women’s March – Hawai‘i Chapter.

The request for the travel bans comes on the heels of travel warnings that have been issued by the NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens, Human Rights Campaign, and Equality Florida for Florida.

The 20 states on the list are:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Louisiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• West Virginia

The bans, according to the letter’s co-signers, will ensure state and county employees “don’t lose their access to health care when representing our state or their county on the continent; transgender and non-binary state or county employees are not put in harm’s way by their employer; and tax-payer dollars are not used to fund states that attack women’s rights, the LGBTQIA+ community, and other minorities.”