Aug. 29 (UPI) — The Canadian government on Tuesday issued an advisory warning LGBTQ travelers of the dangers of visiting the United States.
“Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws,” Global Affairs Canada, the governmental department that manages the country’s diplomatic relations, wrote in the advisory.
The initialism 2SLGBTQI+ in the advisory refers to those who identify as two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and intersex — an expanded and more inclusive form of the more common LGBTQ initialism.
The advisory did not specifically mention any particular states or laws to be cautious of. In a statement to the CBC, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada provided some additional context.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
“The information is provided to enable travelers to make their own informed decisions regarding destinations. Outside Canada, laws and customs related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics can be very different from those in Canada.”
In the advisory, Global Affairs Canada did link to a separate page with further advice for LGBTQ people traveling internationally.
“Watch for laws that: criminalize same-sex activities and relationships and criminalize people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics,” Global Affairs Canada warned. “Some countries may use laws related to ‘vagrancy,’ ‘public nuisance’ or ‘public morals’ to criminalize 2SLGBTQI+ people.”
Among other advice, Global Affairs Canada warned that “not all countries have the same values and legal system that we have in Canada.”
Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the advisory during a press conference in Moncton, Ontario.
“We have professionals in the government whose job is to look carefully around the world and to monitor whether there are particular dangers to particular groups of Canadians,” she said.
“That’s their job and it’s the right thing to do.”
