Since 2016, California Democrats have been adding states to their petty no-travel list as a punishment for conservative policies. As states have passed what leftists refer to as “anti-LGBTQ” laws, they have been added to a list of states that are banned from California state-funded travel. Now that the list has gotten out of control and caused many unnecessary headaches, Democrats are finally walking it back. Unfortunately, they plan to replace it with woke propaganda in other states.
California’s travel ban has impacted hardworking professionals as well as the economy across the state. Athletes and scholars have had to disqualify themselves from work or competition in 23 states including, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. This is completely unfair to these professionals and students who have lost valuable opportunities die to the left’s political games.
At a San Francisco city meeting, leaders discussed a new report about the effects of the city’s boycott policy, known as 12X. San Francisco’s City Administrator’s Office (CAO) said it was not only unable to find evidence suggesting 12X influenced other states to adopt leftist policies, but rather 12X “has created [an] additional administrative burden for City staff and vendors and unintended consequences for San Francisco citizens.”
As a result of refusing to work with or outsource to surrounding conservative states, San Francisco’s contracting costs have drastically increased. Finally, state leaders are realizing that good economic policy is more important than meaningless virtue signaling.
“Polarization is not working. We need to adjust our strategy,” said Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D) following the San Francisco city meeting.
Atkins attempted to convince her supporters that the ban needed to be rescinded by claiming that it has only prevented California from influencing other states, which is true. This is the opposite of what the ban was intended to do. Instead of banning travel to conservative states, she says, California should implement a taxpayer-funded program to influence other states with its LGBTQ+ gender ideology. “Lifting the travel ban and putting a program in its place that would infuse inclusive, non-partisan messages in other states is a way that California can help build a bridge of inclusion and acceptance,” she argued.
The Washington Stand quoted Jonathan Keller, president of California Family Policy, saying, “California’s short-sighted attempt to bully the rest of the country by banning state travel has been wrong since day one.” Now, “it seems legislators are planning a government-funded propaganda campaign to spread misinformation about human sexuality and gender. We oppose the Golden State’s attempt to brainwash citizens.”
California Democrats are right to remove their useless travel ban, but taxpayer dollars should never be used to promote a controversial, anti-Christian worldview.
