Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, filed the measure (SB 314) to repeal the 2011 “Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act,” which isn’t currently being enforced because a federal judge threw it out in July. The state, however, is appealing that ruling.
Rights & Liberties
How the Word ‘Retarded’ Hurts The Developmentally Disabled
Americans with developmental disabilities still remain second-class citizens in the eyes of the law and our fellow human beings. There is no greater symbolic gesture of the ridicule they endure than the accepted use of the word “retarded” in day-to-day speech.
Senate Committee Approves Drone Ban in Florida Skies, With Some Police Exceptions
The ban on unmanned drones used by police in Florida would include exceptions for use with a search warrant or in certain cases, as when a child in danger. The measure (SB 92) was approved unanimously Tuesday by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
Arming Teachers Isn’t Enough: A Proposal of Modest Caliber
The NRA’s Wayne LaPierre is proposing having an armed guard in every school. That’s insane, because it’s not enough: teachers, principals, librarians, counselors, bus drivers should all be armed, and of course children, too, should be armed.
Bill to Repeal “Stand Your Ground” Is Filed In Florida, But May Be Dead on Arrival
Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, filed the measure on Wednesday, but it would have to get past Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, who co-sponsored the self-defense law in 2005, though Baxley has often said that the law was never intended to protect those who pursue their victims.
Spying on Grandma: Health Companies Sell Surveillance as a Benefit and a Saving
Health care is joining a national trend toward greater surveillance of everyday life. Whether this costly technology will ultimately prove clinically or economically effective remains uncertain. So, too, is whether a benign health care purpose can help overcome the unsettling “Big Brother” overtones.
Showing Cops the Middle Finger
When John Swartz was arrested for flipping off a cop, he sued, and appears headed for a win–as he should: rude expression is not a crime, and the obscenity is far surpassed by that of cops exercising arbitrary authority over bruised egos.
Put God Back in Public Schools?
If we’re going to put God back in schools, which God are we talking about? Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of a United Methodist Church, calmly argues against the notion that God has ever left the public schools, and need not be forced back in.
Obama Rule Gives 1 Million Undocumented Immigrants Clearer Path to Legal Status
Many of Florida’s 700,000 undocumented immigrants would be eligible for the new path to the permanent residency status that is also a step toward citizenship as the Obama administration recalibrates the immigration issue.
City Thuggery: Florida Supreme Court Should Ban Red-Light Spy-and-Snap Traffic Cameras
Florida’s new law legalizing red-light cameras ensures that state coffers are on the take. But it does not address the fundamental problems with spy-and-snap cameras. There are innumerable reasons to ban them. There’s only one reason to keep them, and it’s a slimy one: money.