For those who took Governor RONALD DION DeSANTIS at his word, that Florida was a state that respected freedom, wake up. DeSANTIS is a fascist. Our Florida hangovernment is in the hands of corporate oligarchs, now more than ever. Enough already.
From Tallahassee Democrat:
'Trying to silence us': Crowd gives Florida agency an earful over Capitol protest rules
James CallA 15-year-old planted the flag for free speech when officials met with the public to discuss new rules that would regulate protests at the state Capitol. Seneca Bristol made the six-hour trip from Bradenton to tell the Department of ManagementShe is angry about gun violence.
About the loss of rights.
About hate permeating in Florida.
"Now you're proposing that you are not going to listen to us when we're angry. Why?" Bristol asked DMS Deputy Secretary Patrick Gillespie and two department attorneys conducting a hearing on a rewrite of Rule 60H.
What the proposed rules would do
DMS attorneys maintain that "because the Capitol Complex is often a destination for children learning about their state government, individuals can be removed from the premises and charged with trespassing when law enforcement believes their behavior includes:
- Displays and sounds (that) are gratuitous and indecent,
- Material arouses prurient interests,
- Unreasonably obstructs the usual and customary use of a building,
- Create a disruption to the performance of official duties.
A Planned Parenthood of Florida lobbyist said the proposal will allow Capitol Police and DMS to ban from the Capitol campus any organized group or event on the "suspicion of disruption" without having to cite a previous incident.
"Our concern is being able to hold press conferences and bring large numbers of people to the Capitol who want to make their voices heard and participate in the process," said Melanie Andrade Williams, Planned Parenthood's legislative manager
The Florida ACLU views the proposal as part of a concerted effort launched over two years ago "to censor speech those in power do not want to hear."
The new rules could be in effect when the Legislature convenes its 2023 session in March.
The last session was disrupted by protests when lawmakers approved a 15-week abortion ban, restrictions on the teaching of sexuality, and racial history, and new political boundaries that eliminated Congressional minority-access districts.
Back story:State looks to limit protests at Capitol with rules to protect children from 'harmful materials'
Kaity Kate Danehy-Samitz, vice president of Women's Voices of SWFL, a civil liberties group focused on reproductive rights founded in Manatee County, told Gillespie the state was not fooling anyone with a rules rewrite after last session.
"The fact that this is being pushed right before the legislative session shows clearly, they know what to expect in 2023. They know their constituents are not happy with what they're doing if they are trying to silence us this far ahead of session," said Danehy-Samitz.
Twenty-one-year-old Emma Moses was among those who told the panel the rule change was unnecessary. Moses said Capitol Police were able to silence her and ban her from the Capitol under current regulations.
The Florida State University philosophy student is not allow to step into the Florida Capitol until Feb. 17, 2023.
The Lakeland native is serving a one-year banishment because she wore a black T shirt with ARTICLE I SECTION 23 in white lettering to the Capitol when lawmakers voted to approve a 15-week abortion ban - the shirt referenced the privacy cause in the Florida Constitution.
When others in the House gallery began chanting "my body, my choice," Moses said she exited the gallery but was prevented by Capitol Police from leaving the building.
"They held us until well after midnight and issued trespass warnings simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and because we were wearing T-shirts that aligned with the pro-choice cause, we are banned. Banned from the House for a year," said Moses.
Capitol Police said if Moses has official business to conduct she can contact them for permission to enter the building.
The student activists and women groups warned such banishments will become more likely if the new rule is adopted.
The DMS proposal comes in the wake of the Institute for Free Speech, a nonpartisan nonprofit ranking of Florida as the eighth worst state for free speech with a score of 29%.
On a measurement of ten factors in how state's protect individuals' free speech rights in the political process, Florida scored better than other mega-states like California and New York – last at 15%, but significantly lower than Michigan, second with 77%, and Wisconsin, first with 86%.
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'There is nothing to fix here'
Since the 2020 summer of protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody, numerous states have passed broad sweeping bills defining what kind of groups and activities must be regulated. The use of vague and expansive terms in these new laws, including Florida's anti-riot bill HB 1, tramples First Amendment rights, according to Scott Blackburn, the Institute of Free Speech director.
Groups like the Tallahassee-based Florida People's Advocacy Center, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the AFL-CIO, the National Conference of Jewish Women echo Blackburn that the new laws and rules treat free speech as an afterthought.
Mary Anne Hoffman is with the Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty and has participated in protests at the Capitol for 30 years, each time Florida executes an inmate.
The group holds a banner, signs hymns, recites prayers and delivers a copy of their program for the protest to the governor's office.
"I don't think any kids passing are damaged by this," said Hoffman. "This to me smacks of suppression of speech. Suppression of our right to come here."
Rich Templin of the AFL-CIO told DMS he has lobbied the Capitol for more than 20 years and has never seen a demonstration that disrupted the process for any significant amount of time.
He said he never witnessed a protest that engaged in gratuitous violence or aroused an unwholesome interest or sexual desire.
"I've never seen any of those things because the Capitol Police have everything they need to keep the complex safe and secure and to keep the process going," said Templin.
The choice before DMS, Templin told Gillespie, is to continue to pursue a rule change and waste staff time and taxpayers' dollars in a lost cause, or to forget about it and go home and enjoy the holidays.
"There is nothing to fix here. There is no need to institute new rules for a problem that nobody can identify," said Templin.
DMS is accepting public comments on the proposal until the end of business Dec. 8.
Gillespie said the agency will then publish a new draft of the rule. The publication of the draft opens a 21-day public comment period with the potential for someone to request another public hearing.
Questions and comments about the proposal can be sent via email to the DMS Property Logistics Administrator at Ashley.Collins@dms.fl.gov, the postal address is 4050 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee
Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.
Questions and comments about the proposal can be sent via email to the DMS Property Logistics Administrator at Ashley.Collins@dms.fl.gov, the postal address is 4050 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee
Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.
Questions and comments about the proposal can be sent via email to the DMS Property Logistics Administrator at Ashley.Collins@dms.fl.gov, the postal address is 4050 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee
I hate to rain on everyone's parade on any side of the political spectrum but the government is not listening to you and doesn't care what you have to say unless you have MONEY... A LOT OF MONEY. Might as well not be free speech honestly. You're just pissing in the wind. Our so called leaders do what they want and so does the federal government and all the clowns they have working for them. In fact, it could be argued that federal workers have more power than they should, more power than any single Congress person, and they can do whatever in the hell they please without consequences. They can't be fired!
ReplyDeleteOur so called leaders ABSORB power but don't do anything beneficial with it. They take power off the market so to speak. Because power can be dangerous, it's better that they do nothing with it than wield it in ways that are harmful. Doing things with it that benefit the most amount of people possible is not our governments strong suit. That's not how the government functions at this current moment in history. Don't expect anything different any time soon.
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