Nobody wants to see people hurt, businesses burned, or innocent lives disrupted by violence in their communities. But you can’t understand urban unrest in isolation from the violence residents face at the hands of their own government.
Civil Rights
Online Voter Registration in Florida Is Now Law, Over Resistance By Gov. Scott and Detzner
Florida must now develop an online voter registration system by October 2017, joining 20 other states that already provide the service. Gov. Scott was reluctant to sign the measure into law.
Gov. Reubin Askew, Sallye B. Mathis and Edward Daniel Davis Inducted Into Civil Rights Hall
Reubin Askew was named to the hall of fame in part because of his support for desegregation and his appointments of top black officials, including the first black justice on the Florida Supreme Court.
Gov. Scott Ends Worker Drug-Testing Crusade, Restricting Tests to Limited Job Classes
Monday’s agreement, which still requires court approval, identified more than 100 job classes that Scott can test for drug or alcohol use. Workers in most of the positions deal with vulnerable children or adults, handle heavy equipment or are already required to undergo medical tests for other reasons.
Rep. Jason Brodeur: My Religious Freedom Bill Will Encourage More Adoptions
Rep. Jason Brodeur, the Sanford Republican, sponsored the controversial bill that would allow adoption agencies to discriminate in their decisions on whom to place where, even on behalf of the state’s foster system. Brodeur defends his bill.
Will Florida Senate Recognize That Every Child Has the Right To Be Loved?
The choice is not whether church-sponsored agencies have a right to practice their religion. Of course they do. The issue is whether they have a right to enforce their beliefs against others when acting as agents of the state. They do not.
Florida House Advances ‘Conscience Protection’ Bill That Discriminates Against Gay Adoptions
Three hours of debate and numerous attempts to diminish the ability of private, religious adoption agencies to deny placement among gay couples failed as the bill now appears headed for approval Thursday.
Indiana and Arkansas Retreat From Hate Laws. Florida Plows Ahead.
Between Sen. Frank Artiles’ war on transgender people and a House bill protecting discrimination against gay parents, Florida verges on making bigotry state policy again, harkening back to Jim Crow days, but against the LGBT community.
Florida Lawmakers OK Discriminating Against Gay Adoptions on “Religious” Grounds
Despite warnings that Florida would follow Indiana into a controversy with statewide economic implications, the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would allow private adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples.
Bill Targeting Transgenders in Public Bathrooms Clears 2nd House Committee, 7-4
The 7-4 vote of the Florida House Government Operations Subcommittee included one dissent from a Republican, though as the bill advances, its chances of becoming law increase.