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Denver Mayor Bans City-Funded Travel To Indiana Over Religious Freedom Law

DENVER (AP/CBS4) - Denver Mayor Michael Hancock says he is banning all nonessential, city-funded travel to Indiana after it adopted a religious-freedom law that critics say allows discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Hancock announced the ban Tuesday, saying Indiana's law is wrong and Denver will not condone discrimination through the use of taxpayer dollars. Hancock says the new law should be repealed because it creates unnecessary and unwarranted divisiveness.

"Denver is an inclusive city, and we take tremendous pride in that," Hancock said in a statement. "Due to the actions taken by the State of Indiana, we will join with other cities across the nation in suspending the use of city funds for official business to Indiana. This law is just wrong, plain and simple, and we will not tacitly condone discrimination through the use of taxpayer dollars.

Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act gives heightened protections to businesses and individuals who object on religious grounds to providing certain services. It drew fire from gay rights supporters and some businesses and states.

"Should the state of Indiana persist down the path of discrimination, we would like the Indiana businesses to know that they are welcome here in Denver, Colorado, and embraced by our forward thinking community and workforce," Hancock said.

Mayors of other major cities such as Seattle, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. enacted similar bans on city-sponsored travel to Indiana in light of the new law.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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