I read with interest Gov. Burgum’s statement regarding North Dakota’s new tourism and marketing campaign. Burgum said, “Increasing awareness of all ND has to offer not only attracts visitors but also elevates our state as a potential new home for workers, businesses and families.”

Great, until these potential workers get word that our ND legislators don’t want anyone who is gay or transgender. The legislature is doing everything it can to make sure that LGBTQ+ people know they are not welcome here. Despite Gov. Burgum’s rosy words, the reality of pending legislation is that this will be a hostile state for any family coming in, whether military or civilian (not to mention those who already live here) who have children or other loved ones who identity as LGBTQ+.

We already have a shortage of doctors, nurses, veterinarians, teachers, counselors, and service industry workers as it is. Who wants to come live and work in a state that facilitates the censoring of public library books, that dictates what teachers and counselors can and can’t talk to their students about, that prohibits doctors from providing life-saving medical care to their patients. In their zeal to stamp out people they disapprove of, our legislators have forgotten Jesus’s words to the ultra-religious: “Why do you worry about the speck in someone else’s eye, when you have a log in your own?”