# Can a state ban someone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-ban-someone/428949 "2007-12-05T20:51:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-ban-someone/428949/1 "2007-12-05T20:51:35Z")
I was watching Ray last night and it mentions the (apparently fictitious) banning of him by Georgia. I presume they meant banning him playing. But in general 1. Could a state ban someone from performing? (I guess probably, though could interstate commerce provisions be involved?) 2. More trickier - can a state ban someone (a US citizen) from entering its territory? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-ban-someone/428949/2 "2007-12-05T20:56:54Z")
Previous threads: [How do I get banned from a state?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=392709) [Can a Citizen be Deported?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=439387) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-ban-someone/428949/3 "2007-12-05T20:58:29Z")
[QUOTE=scm1001] 1. Could a state ban someone from performing? (I guess probably, though could interstate commerce provisions be involved?) [/quote] States or localities shut down performers all the time, but it has to be for some reason. Strip joints come to mind easily. But I don’t think they could say: you may never perform again. Only: if you perform, it must be in accordance with these regulations. > [@](#): > > 1. More trickier - can a state ban someone (a US citizen) from entering its territory? The 14th amendment would seem to forbid that. Having said that, some states have laws that prevent certain types of criminals (sex offenders, for example) from living in certain areas, although that does not deny them the right to live somewhere in the state. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-ban-someone/428949/4 "2007-12-05T21:07:26Z")
[QUOTE=scm1001] I was watching Ray last night and it mentions the (apparently fictitious) banning of him by Georgia. I presume they meant banning him playing. [/QUOTE] This ban is indeed fictional: > [@](#): > > A. The 1962 ban, and its later reversal by a repentant Georgia state legislature in 1979, provides a key emotional storyline in Ray. But there’s a problem. It apparently never happened. > > The Augusta Chronicle did some digging after the film was released, and found no evidence that a ban against the singer ever existed. . . . Even Charles’s own memoirs make no mention of it, and in fact, describe some concerts in the state during the alleged ban. > > But the storyline isn’t completely fabricated. It is true that Charles refused to play at a segregated concert In Augusta after a plea by young civil rights activists (though in the form of a telegram rather than the street protest shown in the film.) And the Georgia State legislature did invite him to sing “Georgia on My Mind” on the chamber floor in 1979 when they proclaimed it Georgia’s official state song. It was a great moment, I’m sure. But despite what the film’s end credits tell us, it wasn’t coupled with an apology for a ban that never existed. [http://www.stfrancis.edu/historyinthemovies/ray.htm](http://www.stfrancis.edu/historyinthemovies/ray.htm) ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-ban-someone/428949/5 "2007-12-05T21:31:52Z")
thanks for the links - I guess it would be very difficult for a state to ban someone outright - though might make it difficult for him to live there too in other ways ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-ban-someone/428949/6 "2007-12-05T21:56:23Z")
My father was “banned” from Wisconsin as a young man after a particularly hilarious afternoon in front of a judge, involving a speeding violation, his dead brother’s ID and trying to cash a check at a pharmacy. I don’t think it was legally _enforceable_, mind you. But he was told to get himself the hell out of Wisconsin and not come back, and escorted out by a couple of State Troopers with flashing lights. ---
**Author:** ![joechip236](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@joechip236](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joechip236)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-ban-someone/428949/7 "2007-12-06T06:03:28Z")
A state can put out a warrant for your arrest that is only good within that state (as distinct from a warrant that will result in your arrest anywhere in the USA if, say, you’re pulled over for speeding or have some other interaction with the cops). That isn’t being “banned” from that state, per se, but it’s a strong disincentive to returning there. I know someone who is in this very situation; if he goes into a certain state (let’s say Nebraska) he’ll be arrested as soon as the cops become aware of his presence. However, it evidently isn’t serious enough to merit a national warrant, so if he gets pulled over in another state the Nebraska thing won’t come up. So in effect, he’s banned from Nebraska.