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Rights & Liberties

‘Don’t Say Gay’ Extended to 12th Grade in New Board of Education Rule, With Vague Exceptions

April 19, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

dont say gay federal ruling

Teachers shall not “intentionally provide” instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in fourth through 12th grades. Teachers could face suspension or revocation of their educator certificates for violations of the rule.

It Is Unconstitutional, But Florida Lawmakers Approve Death Penalty in Child Rape Cases

April 18, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Florida's actual death row. (Florida State Prison)

Lawmakers hope the bill (HB 1297) will ultimately lead to the U.S. Supreme Court reversing a 2008 decision that barred the death penalty for people who rape children. The state House passed the bill last week.

Dominion’s Defamation Case Against Fox Is Not Easy to Prove

April 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Election workers in Detroit test their equipment made by Dominion Voting Systems in August 2022.

The statements against Dominion have already been proved false. The question now is whether the statements harmed Dominion’s reputation enough to rise to the level of defamation. But it is far easier to throw around as an accusation than it is to actually prove fault.

Republicans Lost GenZ with Expulsion of Two Black Lawmakers

April 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Rep. Justin Jones, left, and Justin Pearson, right, were expelled from the Tennessee House. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout).

As have many shameful lawmakers before them, Tennessee Republicans weaponized the rules of conduct to punish state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. But respectability politics mean nothing to GenZ. If such  glaring issues as gun violence, healthcare, and climate change were not enough to engage the youth, watching racism and inequality so blatantly on display certainly did the job.

Trans Bathroom-Ban Bills Affect Private Businesses, Schools, Public Shelters and Healthcare Facilities

April 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Looks familiar? (© FlaglerLive)

The sharply restrictive bills making their way through the Florida Legislature don’t just attempt to control bathroom use by transgender people but represent a much more “broad and vague” ban on gender-inclusive restrooms and changing facilities in private businesses, health care facilities, schools, public shelters, and jails.

Florida Lawmakers Approve Abortion Ban Past 6 Weeks, One of the Most Restrictive in U.S.

April 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (left) and Rep. Jennifer Canady (right) discussing SB 300 on April 13, 2023. The two women were primary sponsors of the 6-week abortion ban. The House ultimately approved the legislation. Credit: Danielle J. Brown

In less than a year, Florida has moved from a 15-week abortion ban to the passage of one of the most restrictive bans in the nation — a 6-week abortion ban. The state House approved the legislation after at least six hours of questions, amendments, debate, protests and a final vote that will clear the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to consider the bill.

Louis Gaskin Killed 33 Years After Double-Murder as Mark Carman, Who’d Arrested Him, Witnesses

April 12, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

Moments before Louis Gaskin was put to death by lethal injection in the state prison, in the background, a group of opponents of the death penalty from Volusia and Flagler counties held a service led by Father Phil Egitto. He has been leading services across the road from the prison at every execution for a decade and a half. (© FlaglerLive)

Louis Gaskin, who murdered Robert and Georgette Sturmfels in Palm Coast’s R Section in 1989, was killed by lethal injection Wednesday evening. Mark Carman, who arrested Gaskin 33 years ago, was among the witnesses to the execution, and spoke of the experience, as did others who turned up in opposition to the death penalty.

U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Block Execution of Flagler’s Louis Gaskin, Set for Wednesday

April 11, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Louis Gaskin, right, who is to die by lethal injection on April 12, appeared by zoom from the state prison in Raiford for a court hearing in Bunnell before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block the execution of Death Row inmate Louis Gaskin, who is slated to face lethal injection Wednesday in the 1989 murders of a Flagler County couple.

Volusia GOP House Rep. Webster Barnaby Likens Trans People to ‘Mutants,’ ‘Demons and Imps’

April 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Florida House Rep. Webster Barnaby, A Volusia County Republican, calls trans people "demons" and "imps," and compares them to "mutants living among us on planet Earth." during a meeting of the House Commerce Committee, April 10, 2023.

Florida House Rep. Webster Barnaby, A Volusia County Republican, called trans people “demons” and “imps,” and compares them to “mutants living among us on planet Earth” during a House Commerce Committee meeting on a bill that would ban transgenders’ use of bathrooms of their choice.

Behind Mittelstadt’s Firing: ‘An Out of the Closet Lesbian’ Who Refuses to Kiss Chamber’s Ring

April 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 58 Comments

Flagler County School Board members Sally Hunt, left, Will Furry and Christy Chong. (© FlaglerLive)

The bigoted, vengeful firing of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt will deeply stain Flagler County’s reputation for business or great schools: Neither the three school board members nor the chamber of commerce who orchestrated the ouster could find a single reason to fire her, fabrications aside. Malevolence was enough.

Anti-Trans ‘Bathroom Ban’ Is Quickly Moving Through Florida Legislature

April 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

trans bathroom ban

Florida could be next in line to criminalize transgender adults who intentionally enter a restroom or changing facility opposite their sex at birth, according to two bills hastily moving through the Legislature. Similar bathroom bans are advancing through legislatures around the country.

No Overt Prayers: Palm Coast Council Will Stick With Moment of Silence at Meetings to Avoid Theatrics

April 5, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

public prayer government meetings

Rejecting exhortations from nearly two dozen people, there will be no overt, vocal prayer at Palm Coast City Council meetings, though room for prayer in all forms and for all creeds will continue, as it always has, for individuals who choose to pray, whether overtly before meetings or quietly during meetings or during the moment of silence.

After Clearing Gallery of Public, Florida Senate Passes 6-Week Abortion Limit

April 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

The Florida Senate voting on SB 300 today. (© FlaglerLive via Florida Channel)

The bill touched off heavy debate Monday that was interrupted by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, ordering the clearing of the Senate seating gallery because of repeated outbursts from audience members opposed to the bill.

I Served on Flagler’s School District Book Review Committee, Only to Be Silenced

April 2, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

nowhere girls amy reed banned in flagler schools

One of 14 members appointed by the Flagler school administration to a district-level committee to review the challenge to Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls” describes the experience of being part of a 14-0 decision to retain the book, only to be overruled by the superintendent, who banned the book.

Sheriff Launches Voluntary Surveillance Camera Registry Tapping Private Homes, Businesses and Agencies

March 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

Flagler County Sheriff's Office Investigators know almost immediately if video evidence might be available at a particular location and who to contact to retrieve it.

The camera registry is an online portal for citizens to register their security cameras in order to help solve crimes in the community. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is hoping that citizens will register their cameras and help create a community-wide public safety ecosystem.

Skirting Ban, FPC Committee Votes to ‘Weed’ Tilt, With Same Result: the Book Is Removed

March 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

A review committee member with a copy of Ellen Hopkins's "Tilt" this morning at Flagler Palm Coast High School. (© FlaglerLive)

A seven-member committee reviewing a challenge of Ellen Hopkins’s “Tilt” unanimously voted this morning to remove the book from circulation at the Flagler Palm Coast High School library, but not on challenged grounds. The committee found the book did not meet criteria to be banned, but met criteria to be “weeded,” as outdated.

Flagler School Board Keeps Sold on School Library Shelves in Unprecedented 3-2 Vote

March 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Patricia McCormick's Sold was a Sold, a 2006 National Book Award finalist. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County School Board this evening voted 3-2 to keep “Sold,” the novel in verse by Patricia McCormick, on the shelves of Flagler County school’s high school libraries. The novel is written from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl trafficked to a prostitution house in India.

Appeal to Supreme Court for Stay of Gaskin Execution Cites FlaglerLive Article on Juror’s Reversal

March 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Louis Gaskin, right, who is to die by lethal injection on April 12, appeared by zoom from the state prison in Raiford for a court hearing in Bunnell before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

Among other arguments, Gaskin’s lawyers cite a March 15 FlaglerLive article in which Janet Valentine, one of the 12 jurors at Gaskin’s 1990 trial, saying she regrets being part of the 8-4 votes recommending his death. Valentine would go on to be Flagler County’s school superintendent between 2010 and 2014.

Drowning Public Schools in the Bathtub to Promote GOP Ideology

March 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Grover Norquist speaking at a conservative rally in Minnesota in 2013. (Fibonacci Blue/Flickr)

The slow financial strangling and demonization of public schools have set the stage for the direct infusion of millions and eventually billions of taxpayer dollars into the private sector.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: Ellen Hopkins’s Tilt, a Review and a Recommendation

March 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

tilt ellen hopkins

In “Tilt,” Ellen Hopkins gives us the powerful coming of age story of three very engaging, very different American teenagers. The novel is on the list of books three Flagler County residents are seeking to ban. A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee discusses the challenge on Thursday.

DeSantis Is Destroying Florida Universities’ Hard-Earned Respect in the Name of White Nationalism

March 26, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

A student demonstration at the University of Central Florida last September. (© FlaglerLive)

Florida’s public universities have been gaining national prominence and respect, with U.F. and FSU ranked Nos. 5 and 19 among public universities. DeSantis’s assault on academic freedom in the name of a white-nationalist, America-first curriculum is demolishing that hard-earned respect and making an embarrassment of the state.

In less Than 24 Hours, an ‘Open Carry’ Bill Is Introduced then Re-Holstered, Disappointing Advocates

March 23, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

open carry florida

But a permitless carry bill proceeds. That bill, HB 543, would repeal the requirement that Floridians who carry a concealed weapon must get a license through the state. It would also mean Floridians would not have to take a gun safety and training course.

Senate Will Vote on Eliminating Need for Unanimous Juries in Death Recommendations

March 22, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, is sponsoring a bill that would revamp Florida's death-penalty laws. (Colin Hackley/NSF)

The Senate Rules Committee voted 15-4 to approve a bill (SB 450) that would allow death sentences to be imposed based on the recommendations of eight of 12 jurors — a standard that bill sponsor Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, described as being “the most aggressive of all 50 states.”

Judge Perkins Denies Further Hearings and Claim of ‘Manifest Injustice’ in Gaskin Death Penalty Case

March 20, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins this morning in Bunnell denied the defense’s motion for an evidentiary hearing on  Tuesday, ending Gaskin’s last possible effort to prevent his killing. The state Supreme Court and a last-minute commutation by the governor are the only remaining possibilities, but they are beyond the remote.

Any Private or Home Schooled Student Would Be Eligible for $8,000 in Massive Expansion of ‘Vouchers’ at Public Expense

March 18, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 63 Comments

Reasons to smile: future weekday warriors get a leg up, yet again. (Eaglebrook School)

The Republican-controlled House passed a measure that would make every Florida student –in private school, religious schools or home-schooled–eligible for $8,000 in taxpayer-backed school vouchers, as Democrats and other critics slammed the expansion as a “coupon for millionaires.”

Starting Palm Coast Council Meetings with ‘Invocation’ Would Be Unnecessarily Divisive

March 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

palm coast invocation

At a time when communities are divided enough by party, ideology, color and sometimes geography, the Palm Coast City Council’s proposal to start its meetings with a prayer, or invocation would add yet more divisiveness, when the council should be celebrating residents’ shared humanity and basic decency.

A Series of Frantic Hearings at Bunnell Courthouse Are Preceding State’s Killing of Louis Gaskin

March 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Louis Gaskin, right, who is to die by lethal injection on April 12, appeared by zoom from the state prison in Raiford for a court hearing in Bunnell before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

Nearly half a dozen hearings are taking place at the Flagler County courthouse between this week and next in the case of Louis Gaskin, who is scheduled to be executed by the state on April 12. The hearings are last-minutes attempt either to delay or to annul the execution, but the likelihood of success is beyond the realm of hail Marys.

6-week Abortion Limit, With 15-Week Rape Exception Only If Women Prove They Were Assaulted

March 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

The new bills would allow abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape or incest, but they would require women to present documentation to prove they were victims.

Janet Valentine, a Juror and Future Superintendent, Regrets Voting for Gaskin’s Death. Prosecutor Does Not.

March 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

John Tanner, still an attorney in private practice, seen at the podium here in a 2016 case, was for 16 years the State Attorney in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, and the prosecutor who tried the Louis Gaskin murder cases in 1990 before Circuit Judge Kim Hammond. (© FlaglerLive)

Janet Valentine, who would become Flagler school superintendent 20 years later, was one of the jurors who recommended the death of Louis Gaskin in 1990, a vote she now regrets. Gaskin is to be put to death in April. John Tanner, the State Attorney at the time, has no regrets for seeking the death penalty.

Lawmakers Move Closer to Scrapping Unanimous Jury Requirement for Death Penalty Recommendations

March 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Florida's actual death row. (Florida State Prison)

The House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee voted 8-6 today to approve a bill (HB 555) that would eliminate a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before death sentences can be imposed. Under the bill, judges would sentence people to death based on recommendations of eight of 12 jurors.

In Riveting Discussion on Prayers at Meetings, Palm Coast Council Defers to ‘Neutral’ Caution

March 14, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

palm coast city council prayer invocation

The Palm Coast council discussed a proposed prayer policy today  in what turned into an unusually absorbing and equally civil hourlong seminar on the First Amendment, the limits of expressions of belief in government settings, and the unintended and potentially offensive consequences of an open-invocation policy. 

Ignoring Constitutional Cautions, Florida Lawmakers Seek to Make It Easier to Sue News Organizations

March 14, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

The presses aren't about to stop. (Bank Phrom on Unsplash)

Ignoring arguments that the bill is unconstitutional, a House panel on Tuesday approved a controversial proposal that would make it easier for people to sue news organizations for defamation. The measure seeks to limit the “actual malice” standard that for decades has protected journalists writing about powerful government officials.

Would-Be Book-Banner Appeals Nowhere Girls Decision Even Before 14-0 Vote to Keep It

March 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

The 14-member appeals committee meeting this evening in Bunnell. It was facilitated by Lashakia Moore, the assistant superintendent. (© FlaglerLive)

A 14-member district committee voted unanimously this evening to recommend keeping Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls,” a book deconstructing high school rape culture, on the shelves at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School. The woman challenging the book filed an appeal to the school board even before the superintendent has weighed on.

Citing ‘Reason Above Prejudice,’ Superintendent Upholds Recommendation to Keep Sold on School Shelves

March 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

"Sold" was discussed at an appeals committee meeting on March 6. (© FlaglerLive)

Citing “principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice,” Flagler School Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt upheld the recommendation of a district appeals committee to keep Patricia McCormick’s “Sold,” on human trafficking, on library shelves at high and middle schools.

Iowa Outdoes Florida’s ‘Parental Rights’ Abuses

March 11, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

iowa parental rights not quite heaven

GOP lawmakers pushing a “parental rights” agenda nevertheless think it’s just fine for gun owners to leave loaded weapons in cars in school parking lots, to loosen child labor laws, to cut unemployment benefits for parents with more than three children.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: Amy Reed’s The Nowhere Girls, a Review and Recommendation

March 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Amy Reed's "The Nowhere Girls" was published in 2017. It has been frequently banned in various school districts and is facing an attempted ban in the Flagler County school district.

Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls,” a 2017 novel on high school rape culture and three girls’ attempt to counter it, is a #MeToo manifesto for young adults. It’s up for banning from Flagler schools. This review is a guide.

Lawmakers Seek to Cut Florida’s Abortion Ban to 6 Weeks, from Current 15

March 8, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

abortion rights six week limit florida

Much of the bills would be contingent on the Supreme Court effectively upholding the 15-week law. The current limit has drawn criticism because it does not include exemptions for victims of rape or incest.

Drag Show Curbs Likely Violate First Amendment

March 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Protesters against a bill restricting drag shows march from a rally outside of the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville on Feb. 14, 2023.

Republican lawmakers in numerous states, including Florida, seek to restrict or eliminate events like drag shows and drag story hours. These efforts have been accompanied by inflammatory rhetoric not grounded in fact about the need to protect children from “grooming” and sexually explicit performances.

District Appeals Committee Votes Unanimously to Keep Sold on High School and Middle School Shelves

March 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The 11-member appeals committee meeting this evening. (© FlaglerLive)

An 11-member district-wide appeals committee this evening voted to uphold two school-based committees’ decisions to keep “Sold,” the fictional story of a 13-year-old girl trafficked into sexual slavery, on the library shelves at high and middle schools.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: McCormick’s Sold, a Review and a Recommendation

March 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Patricia McCormick's "Sold" challenged for banning in Florida

Patricia McCormick’s “Sold,” about the experiences of a 13-year-old girl sold into sexual slavery, is among the 22 books that a trio of “moms for liberty” have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A school committee voted to keep the book. The banners appealed the decision to a district committee, which meets on March 6. The following review is presented as a guide.

Florida Legislature Is Set to Push Sweeping Changes to Legal System, Favoring Business and Government at Individuals’ Expense

March 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Paul Renner, the Palm Coast Republican and House Speaker, is enthusiastically leading a House that has lurched further to the right than under any administration since the Jim Crow era. (© FlaglerLive)

Paul Renner, the Palm Coast Republican and House Speaker, is enthusiastically leading a House that has lurched further to the right than under any administration in generations as the Legislature seeks to revamp the state’s litigation system, favoring businesses at the expense of individual consumers.

Florida Welcomes You. With A Growing List of Exceptions.

March 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 78 Comments

florida eclusions

Florida doesn’t want you if you’re a lib. That goes double if you’re from California. But if you take pleasure in lib-owning, professor-kicking, book-burning, trans-torturing, forced birth and sanitized history, Florida welcomes you.

Florida Bill Would Require Bloggers to ‘Register’ With State and Turn Over Financial Accounts

March 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

bloggers required to register with the state

The bill, which has no chance of becoming law, would require bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis and other elected state officials to register with the government and provide monthly financial income reports. The National Review today called the bill’s GOP author a “moron.”

On Eve of Legislative Session, ACLU Warns of Brazen Attacks on Floridians’ Civil Liberties

March 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Wish lists have an advantage in a one-party state. (Facebook)

The ACLU offered insight into multiple pieces of legislation on voting, LGBT, free expression and minority rights 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.

Matanzas Assault Case: A Miscarriage of Justice Hardens Before Our Eyes

March 2, 2023 | Pierre Tristam | 121 Comments

brendan depa miscarriage justice

The public reaction to 17-year-old Brendan Depa’s assault of Joan Naydich at Matanzas High School is mostly compassionate and balanced. The more strident reaction among elected officials–the State Attorney, school board members–is not not. Elected officials are not only exploiting the situation. They’re exploiting Depa. They want blood.

Teaching Heroic Musician Graham Jackson’s Story in Florida Could Now Be Illegal

March 1, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Florida’s “anti-woke” legislation and the state’s recent rejection of the AP African American studies curriculum are well-known examples of a disturbing trend that attempts to criminalize exploring the stories of Black people such as Graham Jackson.

Against Policy, Flagler’s Book-Challenge Appeal Panels Dim Faculty and District Vote to Minority Status

February 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Assistant Superintendent Lashakia Moore at a Feb. 6 community meeting where most of the non-district employees looking to be appointed to book-review committees heard an orientation. The committee members were culled from that group. The first such appeals committee meets on March 6. (© FlaglerLive)

A Flagler County school district-level committee will meet for the first time on Monday to take up the appeal of a decision not to ban the novel “Sold” from school library shelves. The make-up of the committee is not in line with school board policy, giving parents and community members a lopsided presence at the expense of district staff and faculty.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: Malinda Lo’s Last Night at the Telegraph Club, a Review and a Recommendation

February 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Malinda Lo’s “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” is among the 22 books that a trio of “moms for liberty” have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A joint committee of Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high school faculty members and parent representatives meets on March 7 to decide whether to retain it or ban the book. The following review is presented as a guide.

One Texas Judge Will Decide Fate of Abortion Pill Used by Millions of American Women

February 25, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Federal District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Donald Trump appointee, has shaped his decisions from his religious beliefs. (Wkimedia Commons)

By filing a lawsuit in Amarillo, the Alliance Defending Freedom was almost guaranteed to draw U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a President Donald Trump appointee who worked as deputy general counsel at First Liberty Institute, a conservative nonprofit advocating for religious liberty, before being confirmed to the federal judiciary in 2019.

School Board’s Chong Demands ‘Safe Space’ Sign Be Removed Seconds After Decrying Violence at Matanzas

February 23, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 55 Comments

The sign above, ina classroom that used to be the gathering place for Matanzas High School's Gay-Straight Alliance, was glimpsed for less than two seconds in a sheriff's body cam video of the arrest of a Matanzas student ion Tuesday. The sign nevertheless caught the attention of School Board member Christy Chong, who demanded that it be taken down. (© FlaglerLive via sheriff's Axon video)

Flagler County School Board member Christy Chong had just decried a Matanzas High School student’s attack on a teacher aide there when, not a minute later, she demanded that a “safe space” poster associated with LGBTQ groups and anti-bullying be removed from a Matanzas classroom.

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