San Francisco’s city council is considering lifting a ban on municipally-sanctioned travel to a number of conservative parts of the country, potentially reversing seven years of the policy.
The California city is considering ending the policy of blocking travel to Republican-led areas using public funds after almost ten years of restrictions.
San Francisco was not alone in halting travel to conservative areas, as both the states of California and New York did the same over the last decade.
San Francisco barred the use of city funds for travel to a number of Republican-led areas in 2016 following the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide.
A recent city report found that the ban was economically damaging and counterproductive to San Francisco.
States deemed to be unfriendly to gay and transgender causes were placed on the no-travel list.
After San Francisco, New York led the way under disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), who signed a 2018 executive order with limitations on travel to North Carolina. That state passed a law that required individuals to use the bathroom of their biological sex.
The effects of the travel bands coincided with a similar push from major corporations.
The travel bans did not have the intended effects, as many of those blocked from traveling to states such as North Carolina were college athletes, barred from participating in sports events.
By 2021, the list of states barred from official travel by California reached 18. That year, Florida and Texas were added to the ban.
‘Progressive Cancel Culture Is Dumb’: Ben Sasse Goes Off On San Francisco’s Travel Ban https://t.co/ynyXRQvD7a pic.twitter.com/RYGKOhHNnC
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) October 19, 2019
The ban was also broken at certain times, depending on circumstances. Despite the prohibition on state-funded travel to North Carolina, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio (D) shipped homeless to the state using taxpayer funds.
The Big Apple mayor also allowed a small exemption in 2018 so that some athletes could compete in the Tarheel State.
In addition, despite the ban, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) vacationed in Montana, which was banned for other state officials.
The move by San Francisco may coincide with other locales ending their boycotts. In 2021, the state of Washington lifted its ban on official travel to North Carolina.
