Ellington

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The state of Vermont is banning for now official travel to Mississippi because of that state's passage of a law that allows religious groups and some private businesses to refuse service to gay couples.

In a Tuesday message to top state officials Vermont Administration Secretary Justin Johnson said the action was a response to Mississippi's new law.

Earlier Tuesday Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, invited PayPal to bring 400 jobs to Vermont after the company said it was backing out of a move to North Carolina because of a new law in that state that restricts protections for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender people. Last week Shumlin banned all non-essential state travel to North Carolina to protest the law.