Canada issues LGBTQ travel warning for some US states

The Canadian government published an advisory on Tuesday asking LGBTQ+ people to be careful about traveling to the United States.

"Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) persons," the advisory said. "Check relevant state and local laws," it added.

Canada's travel advisories typically focus on risks linked to political instability or natural disasters. The overall risk profile for the US remains at green, indicating a normal security precautions requirement.

Anti-LGBTQ laws on the rise in some states

The US has seen a significant increase in the number of state governments introducing anti-LGBTQ laws.

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group, said there had been more than 525 bills on anti-LGBTQ issues in 41 US states this year alone. 

Of those, 76  had been signed into law as of early June, more than any year on record and more than double over last year.

There were 115 similar bills introduced in 2015, the group said to place this year's figure in context.

The group declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ people in the US for this first time in its more than 40-year history.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters that government had employed experts to monitor whether there were particular dangers to particular groups of Canadians.

She declined to comment on whether the Biden administration had been consulted before making the change.

Canada is home to 40 million people, of whom about a million identify as part of the LGBTQ community, according to Canada's national statistical ageny.

rm/kb (Reuters, AFP)