Ellington

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza has signed an executive order banning non-essential, city-funded travel to North Carolina and Mississippi because of laws passed there that critics call discriminatory against gay and transgender people.

Elorza, a Democrat, signed the order on Thursday. He says the city of Providence stands in solidarity with residents in North Carolina and Mississippi who are being denied their rights.

He becomes the latest public official to sign such a ban. Governors from New York and Connecticut, and mayors around the country, have signed such bans since the laws passed in recent weeks.

Mississippi's governor signed a law allowing religious groups and some businesses to refuse service to gay couples. North Carolina lawmakers blocked anti-discrimination protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people.