There are still some bastions of sanity in California, as attested to by the battles being fought against the state government by the school boards of Temecula, Chino Valley, and Murietta. The City of Huntington Beach is also one of California's saner communities. A good number of the COVID protests and businesses defying Governor Gavin Newsom's closure orders came out of this municipality. The city is currently in a battle over the state's forced policies on affordable housing. Attorney General Rob Bonta has sued, and Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates is leading the charge to fight it. The people of Huntington Beach are freedom-loving constitutionalists who hold to their role as a self-governing charter city and seek to institute policies that reflect this independence from state overreach. 

After burning the midnight oil on Tuesday into the early morning on Wednesday, the Huntington Beach City Council rendered one of those consequential decisions, declaring a ban on universal vaccine and mask mandates now and in the future. 

It was a narrow victory, but a victory, nonetheless. 

The Huntington Beach City Council narrowly voted Wednesday to approve a declaration to ban universal mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the city.

The declaration passed with a 4-3 vote. The meeting adjourned at 2:48 a.m.

There was an exception to the mask and vaccine mandate rules. Those who have already tested positive for COVID-19 would not have to follow the mask and vaccine bans.

Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark introduced the motion at the Huntington Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday night. The approval of the declaration essentially makes Huntington Beach a no mask and no vaccine city.

Van Der Mark made it clear that businesses could choose to do what they wanted, but the city itself would not be imposing any policies on masking or vaccinations. Understanding the behaviors of the executive branch of California, Van Der Mark made it known that this was a preemptive strike against any state action to re-institute such mandates.

Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van der Mark, Mayor Tony Strickland, and council member Casey McKeon were voted into office in November of 2022 after a hard-fought election to enact change in the leadership of the City Council. RedState covered a TPUSA candidate's forum that year where McKeon, Van derk Mark, and Strickland introduced their candidacies, explained why they were running, and stressed what is at stake in the City of Huntington Beach and in California.

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