The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida says the GOP agenda for the 2023 legislative session threatens our democracy and they warn of brazen attacks on Floridians’ civil liberties.
On Wednesday, the ACLU staff and council offered insight into multiple pieces of legislation and they say, without a doubt, those bills will end up on the governor’s desk before the halfway point of this year’s session.
“We want to make very clear that our view is that Gov. DeSantis and his allies have made voting more difficult,” said ACLU political director Kirk Bailey. “They have obstructed our right to peacefully protest. They’ve banned conversations about Black and LGBTQ people from classrooms and other environments. They’ve passed harmful legislation to score political points — at the cost of immigrants — and they’ve intervened in individual’s private medical decisions with their 15-week abortion ban,” Bailey said.
The ACLU of Florida is “very concerned” that these trends are expected to continue. The legislative session starts on March 7.
Bailey says the attacks are coming from politicians who “apparently care more about their own ambitions than the people of the state of Florida.”
On the abortion front, the ACLU said that “private health decisions should be something that are made between patients and their doctors. But it’s clear that the leadership of this state doesn’t believe that. And that they are putting their own interest and their own political interest ahead of the needs of Floridians.”
Bailey also emphasized that last year’s abortion ban made no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
That said, Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo has stated that she favors the 12-week ban with exceptions for rape and incest.
On the issues of civil rights and liberties, the ACLU of Florida said the breadth of the challenges impact Floridians’ most fundamental constitutionally granted freedoms.
The controversial policies range from legal liability and voting restrictions to the prohibition of LGBTQ+ and Black history discussions, the Phoenix previously reported. [On Thursday, GOP Sen. Jason Brodeur filed a bill titled “Information Dissemination” that would require “bloggers” who write about DeSantis, members of the cabinet and lawmakers to register with the state and disclose in laborious monthly reports who is paying them and how much.]
“It’s also troubling because many of these laws — if not most of them — are unconstitutional, have been challenged and been ruled unconstitutional and, yet, the administration persists, and it’s costing Florida’s taxpayers millions of dollars to pursue these particular cases,” Bailey said.
When asked about the likeliness of the ACLU filing any administrative challenges or lawsuits related to legislation, ACLU legislative director Kara Gross said they are currently reviewing and monitoring “all of the options,” but she cannot comment on potential litigation.
Gross says the onslaught of “brazen attacks” on Floridian’s freedoms is relentless.
“We have a governor that is intent on having government control over every aspect of our lives,” she said.
Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix
Laurel says
It’s not just Florida, it’s spreading across the US like cancer.
“Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” – Donald J. Trump
So much for Republicans and the rule of law.
Here’s the thing: These politicians are writing bills by the busload that are used for controlling nearly every aspect of our lives, without our consent! There is no way that the majority of Americans want these oppression put upon us. We are not voting for these bills, yet.
Big Brother is watching you, soon.
Jonathan says
So number one issue is your allowed to have an abortion but 4 months is not enough time . I guess where’s the fun in killing a human baby if you can’t tell it’s a baby and don’t have to manually extract it. Private health decisions are still made between patients and doctors , while also still allowing “non profit”clinics perform abortions and number one once decided to have one. No referral necessary ,sign waiver, payment upfront , maybe same-day service, some motrin Nothing more. I personally not care , I reckon abortion is not truly abortion until it is, officially. That be second trimester on. Voting restrictions? Prohibition of black history discussions? As far as lgbtq,abortion not an issue for them. Non discriminatory laws and practices apply also there’s nothing need be discussed or taught outside of tolerance and or acceptance for all . Lgbtq It doesn’t require classes or books its not a subject for lesser education save it for college when they explore it on their own. The resources need be used to create more specialized education for struggling students and those needing more academic attention and tech programs for the non academic future adult. Trump is republican only because in a 2 party system anyone with ambitions in politics and specifically presidency must be one or other. As it panned out the party that offered opportunities was so. Democratic party was not available but either one he would be if that’s how it be to get there. In fact if it were possible to to run and win as independent that would of have been, like in 2000 when he thought about running as part of green party. But in fact the clinton era dems and extent repubics ensured independent candidates would not gain full ballot access moving forward to prevent another Ross Perot. So that plan had to change. And now Oh what a world what a world.