Florida travel ban to expire next week

FLORIDA — The Florida travel bans are expiring next week, but one of the state’s biggest industries will remain on the chopping block.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the American Association of Retired Persons will start its annual conference in Atlanta next month and its annual convention in Charlotte next month, ending the ban on travel to the U.S. by retired military personnel.

In addition to military retirees, retired Air Force and Army officers, and active-duty and reserve military personnel, retirees and their dependents of other veterans will be excluded from the travel ban.

More than a quarter of U.A.R.P. retirees, the AP reported, live outside of Florida, and they account for a majority of the more than 1.2 million active-and-retired Americans.

Veterans, their families and those who live in the state also have been affected by the travel bans, which have forced nearly 200,000 people to return home from overseas.

President Donald Trump signed the travel and border security orders on Jan. 25, with the first ban going into effect a day later.

Trump has repeatedly said that the ban is needed to prevent terrorism, but critics say it’s hurting the economy and hurting our troops.

Critics say the travel restrictions have resulted in the closure of many military bases, such as the USSOCOM in the Gulf of Mexico.

Some of the states that have suspended the travelban have also imposed travel restrictions on the military and others, including Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana.