Dane County joined the growing list of entities boycotting North Carolina and Mississippi due to the recent adoption of laws in those states that would allow for discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community.

In a memo addressed to county staff Monday, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi suspended nonessential travel by county staff to the two states, citing ethical and economic concerns. In a second memo addressed to Gov. Scott Walker, Parisi made similar arguments for why Walker should publicly oppose any similar legislation in Wisconsin. 

Several large national corporations have recently cancelled proposed business ventures in North Carolina and Mississippi in light of laws that some have seen as discriminatory.

North Carolina passed a law in March requiring people to only use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificate. Mississippi passed a law April 5 that allows individuals and organizations to refuse service to LGBTQ patrons, among others, for religious reasons.

In the internal memo, Parisi said he cannot allow the use of county funds to support conferences, hotel and tax revenues these states rely on. He said county staff must be “vigilant of a push for similar discriminatory, misguided legislation” within Wisconsin.

In an interview, Parisi said the decision came after mounting evidence that there is a template for discriminatory laws that cannot be repeated in Wisconsin. He said he believes his decision is in line with the will of his constituents.

“I don’t believe the taxpayers of Dane County want their money spent in states that are passing laws that discriminate against people,” Parisi said.

Parisi urged Walker to publicly reject such laws, arguing the state could not sustain the loss of jobs that would occur if similar legislation were passed here. He cited PayPal’s decision to forego creating an operations center in North Carolina after the state passed its bathroom bill.

Laurel Patrick, Walker’s spokesperson, said in an email to The Badger Herald the Wisconsin constitution already protects the religious liberties of residents.

Parisi said he was unaware if such action has ever been taken by the county before Monday, but said the gravity of the issue merited the decision. Parisi said it was unclear if any planned trips by county officials would be affected.