UPDATE: Oppose Senate Bill 234
THIS BILL SAILED THROUGH THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE WITHOUT OPPOSITION AND UNANIMOUSLY.
On Monday, February 15, 2021, the Senate Judiciary committee will consider Senate Bill 234. It is item number 3 on their agenda.
Among other things, this bill introduced by Senator Lauren Book would change the definition of “day” to mean part of any calendar day. Therefore, as written, anywhere you are physically present 4 or more times a year would technically have to be registered within 48 hours.
Visit your parent’s home once a week for dinner? Play cards at a friend’s house once a month? Stop in for coffee at a neighbors’ once every few weeks? Use the same barber?… You’d be registering them all.
Senator Book could have easily clarified the confusion in the language of the bill to state, “a Day means any Calendar Day that includes a 24 hour period”, but she chose, “A day includes any part of a calendar day.” Any part of a calendar day can be one minute! If you sit at a bus stop for 5 minutes on your way to work have you spent a day there? Do you now need to change your transient address?
This Bill was intended to clarify but it only makes things more confusing! Senator Book’s proposal to redefine the meaning of day is ridiculous! It must be stopped.
We call on our members to contact the Senate Judiciary via email and telephone and ask them to OPPOSE SENATE BILL 234 when they meet this coming Monday!
The Senators on the Judiciary Committee can be found here: https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/JU/ click on their names for contact information.
For quick reference:
| Brandes.Jeff@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5024 |
| Gibson.Audrey@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5006 |
| Baxley.Dennis@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5012 |
| Boyd.Jim@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5021 |
| Bradley.Jennifer@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5005 |
| Broxson.Doug@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5001 |
| Mayfield.Debbie@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5017 |
| Polsky.Tina@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5029 |
| Rodrigues.Ray@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5027 |
| Rouson.Darryl@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5019 |
| Thurston.Perry@flsenate.gov | (850) 487-5033 |
IMPORTANT NOTE: COMMUNICATION WITH A STATE SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE BECOMES PUBLIC RECORD. PLEASE REMEMBER TO BE RESPECTFUL TO THEM AND STICK TO THE FACTS. IF YOU WRITE SOMETHING RUDE OR OFFENSIVE, YOU WILL ONLY HARM OUR EFFORT AND WE RATHER YOU SEND NOTHING AT ALL
Sent email, called also, this bill makes no sense. Are we just pawn in a game that rules change all the time. I say no, time to voice your comments. We need more people to show we are human beings. I hope you do the same.
Joe
To me, this would also be considered MORE Ex Post Facto laws
I emailed Senator Doug Broxson yesterday and sent him an amended version of the same letter that Gail sent him just changing it to say I am a member and customizing it to make it mine since Gail is far more eloquent than I am.
Book needs to resign and her daddy needs to retire from his lobbyist career. Both are corrupt symptoms of the Florida political system.
One of the definitions of insanity is : To do the same thing, the same way, over and over, and expect different results.
Book just will not give up until she is declare the High Priestess of the Universe and rises as the AntiChrist.
She seems to have a personal beef with us that she just cannot let go of. Does she lay awake at night plotting her next evil plan against us? She must live a miserable life. Very sad.
Stay on that slippery slope. Shop the same store 4 times in a year and you have to register it, purchase gas at the same location 4 times a year and you have to register it, go to the same shopping mall 4 times in a year and you have to register it. Attend church 4 times a year and YEP!!!
another required registry location. Comments like this might help show how ludacris this bill really is.
I agree, I called & objected 2 Bill 234
I called their main number and left a verbal objection with office personnel discussing the issues from the posts about this bill. I was told there will be a vote on this next week before it heads to the Rules Committee. My written objections will follow.
Can we ALL visit Senator Lauren Book’s house 4 times? We can ALL register her house , residence, her cars, and maybe her work location since we visited there four or more times in a year.
Please don’t suggest this. This will only harm the effort.
Maybe we SHOULD protest in front of her house as part of the absurdity of the bill. Maybe it seems like hyperbole, but the bill is so absure that if even a second could be considered part of a day, then theoretically, She can file restraining orders on one person like she tried with me, but she can’t file restraining orders on hundreds of protesters.
It isn’t that uncommon for the houses of lawmakers to see protesters. Just ask Mitch McConnell. Ask Louis DeJoy. Or, ask MN Department of Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead, whjo was met with protesters as part of the MSOP Hunger strike. It got things accomplished.
Y’all spent years in fear of Lauren Book. She only has power over us because we are unwilling to stand together. I’ve taken the brunt of her hatred and she’s thrown everything at my and I’m still standing. And now I have three victories over her in court, and don’t forget I protested her in 2015; she tried to have me arrested then and failed. So what more can she do to me other than have me killed?
If we ALL stand up to her, she’ll stand down. If you leave it to one or two of us to fight, she can silence us.
Relax
It was a joke, about as funny as them saying we have to register every minute of our lives. I was just saying, IF she helps pass this and we have to register EVERY place we go, I will do it.
Let us all pray this does not pass. I think the registery kings and queens are feeling the pressure from all the lawsuits. It is easier to do sweeps and get us all off the streets and get us new / Fake charges.
Unlike people now arrested for new charges, I do not get to bargain registry application to get a lighter sentence. There was no registry in 1991. I, along with others were double cheated. 1st by not having the luxery of fighting it during our trial (Because it didn’t exist) and #2 Then getting it applied retro actively in 1997.
Great Idea !! You wouldn’t even have to ring the door bell.
If she gets away with this then I’ll never set foot in Florida again….which I’m sure is her purpose….although I’m proud of Derek from Once Fallen for having the balls to stand up to the Bimbo Princess, he probably made things worse for the general registrant population down there….I’m not denigrating Derek in ANY way as I personally regard him as something of a hero and revolutionary in this fight. I’m sure left to her own devices(yeah right) errrr…because we all know how smart she is. Florida’s policy on span of days spent in permanent & tempory domiciles might not be what they are now….
Bay County is already targeting ppl & timing/harassing ppl concerning the calendar days vs this bill.
W, you ain’t kidding,,,,failure to register a hole flew of stuff,,,,,,,,,,,,https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/38-arrested-in-bay-county-operation-targeting-sex-offenders-child-porn-predators/ar-BB1dvnx6
I left a terd at their doorstep. I hope this helps. The Books obsession with registrants is absolutely morbid.
In administrative law they have what’s called the Arccadi Doctrine. This applies to federal law. Essentially, this doctrine invalidates a law that they fail to enforce. In theory, if they fail to enforce all of these provisions the entire registry can be invalidated which would be the Books worse nightmare. No more sex offender registry for Florida. There are state equivalents for the Arccadi Doctrine. This should be an interesting argument for FAC’s attorneys.
They will rubber stamp this with smiles, back slaps and high-fives. The FLA legislature has historically coddled and embraced the Books’ nonsensical vigilante and hate bills.
All propaganda. No proof. No evidence. Just fear rhetoric.
They fall for it every time.
OK, well not every bill passes, so lets do our best to prevent it or put them on notice of this absurdity so if we do have to sue there will be a textbook of letters in opposition.
I know none of us want this bill to pass because it will complicate our lives even more!!! BUT, Can we imagine the burden that this bill will put on ALL the Law Enforcement Officials that deal with the “Sex Offender Registration”!!! I really believe that if this bill passes, Not only will it FINALLY prove that the Registry IS A PUNISHMENT, But it will also cause EVERY Registration Office to STAY Booked Up with “People Forced To Register”!!!! I feel MANY Lawsuits being filed would open up some “Closed” Eyes!!!!!!. Legally, I don’t think anyone can “Change” the Definition of a Word!!! Not without the SUPREME COURTS ruling on it!! Every School and (Partially) Educated person was/has/is being taught in school that a “Day” is 24 HOURS!!! Or 12 HOURS at the Least!!!! Not 1 minute or 1 hour or even 10 hours!! I see LOTS AND LOTS of Problems with this new “Law” if it passes!! And I believe it will actually HELP us in the end!! It very well could be the Stone that Crumbles the Wall!! At least I wanna believe this!!! I mean, People can’t really be this stupid!?!?!, Can they?????. Maybe this is the Added law that WAKES UP EVERYONE and makes them see that the “Registry” Really IS PUNISHMENT!!!!!.
tired
I would agree with you if not for the Holocaust. I know we were told to stop making that comparison but bare with me. Who in their right mind could have imagined World War II would advanced from a fight for dominance, to Killing men, woman AND innocent children.
And not just with bombs that have no eyes, but humans killing humans in ovens. So if that can happen, to innocent children and their families who did NOTHING wrong except being a race (Jews) that a group of monster hated, what sympathy do you expect for us?
Easy, print out every store, shop, bus stop and street in their home area, and declare that as the places you “frequent”.
I declared every street and business in California and they said I couldn’t do this. I said, I have lawfully informed you of this fact, and that their laws do not require you to tell them where you do not go, they accepted this loophole. They didn’t care for it. But you declare it lawfully, then they can’t get you. Print it out in “tiny” front to help save some trees, please.
Note: If you fail to disclose streets you drive on, bus stops, etc.. this is how they are going to “get you”.
When they have to have a billion tons of paper as “evidence”, then they will die of document overload.
If it passes, what every registrant in Florida needs to do is take a list of every local address – commercial or residential – and register it. Simply driving or walking by it constitutes presence for a day as defined by law. Do it in pieces (10 – 15 pages at a time) or just take the whole damn phone book. Then follow up with FDLE to complain that the registration office isn’t updating as required.
I would also suggest doing the same thing with vehicles (pull the lists from advertisements – you can “have access” to them without buying them) and email addresses and identifiers (whether or not you actually create them, just register long lists).
Not a good idea. Stick to the reality of the issue, please.
Dear FAC,i do believe Dustin has a very good idea, have been thinking about this scenario for years but never got around to doing it, i sit at these 3 bus stops for a period of time most every day, i eat at 3 of these pizzerias at least 5 times a month, i have coffee at these 5 coffee shops at least 5 times a month. This could end up being so much fun FAC, we should invest our time and thoughts in getting this scenario going in multiple jurisdictions, heck we can even put Books address on the list,, dam, sounds like real fun.
I beg to differ. The reality of the issue (as you put it) is that the point of the law is to prevent registrants from going out and having anything resembling a life, keeping them imprisoned in their own homes like hermits, and sending them back to jail/prison for what amounts to no other reason than being on the registry.
As you pointed out, it’s not far fetched to envision some deputy kicking down a registrant’s door because they have multiple video security clips of the registrant pumping gas at a station he didn’t register in accordance with this law. Or a street intersection with a stop sign on the route the registrant takes from his residence to where he works. I wouldn’t even be surprised if some sheriff (probably in Broward) arrested someone for not registering the sheriff’s office as a “place frequented” by the standards set by this law. Consequently, the idea proposed above is more CYA than intent to harass or overburden LE just to spite them for finding more ways of being absurd.
Someone above quoted Lincoln saying “The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.” That may have been true in his day, but certainly not now. The registry itself was bad law when it was first written (not surprising, given that it’s based entirely on false premises), gets worse every year, and there seems no end in sight. Florida is the perfect example of that – the strictest enforcement of a completely asinine set of discriminatory rules that achieve nothing regarding its stated purpose (but don’t forget the unstated purpose – money).
Another reality of the issue is that elected officials really only value the opinions of those with money and those that vote, in that order (the former having far more weight than the latter). Perhaps the best opposition to this bill would come from non-registrants whose homes and businesses would end up on the registry because a registrant “frequents” there, according to this law. If so, counter that they shouldn’t have a problem with that – it’s not like it’s punishment or anything…
Dustin
To make matters worse, WE cannot live freely in peace, even though many of us have been off Paper for years or decades. Having said that, the World news this morning announced the new adminstration just gave the green light for 25,000 immigrants in Mexico to come into the U.S.A.
I have no issue with a handful of people coming here for a better life the “Right” way. But granting a mass Exodus from South America and beyound is crazy. AND many of us on the registry cannot get jobs, food stamps or any assistance. BUT, they already said these people coming will get assistance with jobs, housing, medical care, educations and more.
Again, not being racist, just stating how we are treated lower than immigrants.
Dustin
Bill 666 Florida Penal Code
Under the command of the Governor of Florida, The new Sex offender Police force is hereby formed.
Ok this is not true, but, how far fetched is it??? Vote down the devils bill #666
From what I’ve been reading, most Florida LE pretty much are the “Sex Offender Registry Police Force.” They don’t appear to be willing and/or able to deal with any other kind of crime (even sex crime), be it because of cowardice or incompetence (or both?).
While not a Florida resident, I have written to multiple members opposing this bill. Why this woman keeps getting elected is beyond me. Aggressively doing your job is one thing, but she is seriously mental about the subject. To the point that this is consuming her.
I suggest that if this bill is enacted, registrants should go to her house and continually go until her address needs to be registered.
For what it is worth, I sent a letter last week to every member of the committee. After all, if I’m going to be on the FloriDUH vigilante hitlist, I should have a say in matters related to this hitlist.
I simply stated what I already said here in previous discussions related to the time issue.
Derek,
A lady told me that Ron Book managed to get out of his ‘last’ DWI where he crashed into another vehicle?
Vicki
Ron Book’s next hearing on his DUI crash is scheduled for March 3, according to the docket.
To my knowledge, Ron has not gotten out of anything (yet).
Correct – and according to the the issues he has received orders on thus far, he’s not been very successful in his efforts (yet).
I would like to thank everyone that has contacted their officials and/or protested in anyway objecting registries. We all need to stand up and let our voice be heard, if we don’t a registered person is not a human in their eyes, only another inanimate object. I know it is difficult and frightening at times but together we can do it, remember, the band is heard before the soloist! Join up folks, let them hear us! WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS!
AMEN!
At the core of their side is the idea they are keeping kids safe. At least that’s how’s they build support. We know the facts, but we are basically subject matter experts. Not everyone wants to be and expert, they just want to feel safe or good. Feel good legislation is generally bad legislation. Again the general public will support anything against those who register. Hopefully it will not pass because maybe someone will consider the money side. I usually attack the money because it’s easier, everyone understands not having enough money. These posts about being petty and register the store, or whatever is just the wrong message. It’s not the store, they want your friend house you watch the game with from work who knows you are an ok person. Think about that. I for one am leaving Florida soon, but being as my charge is here, I’ll always support what is done here. Let’s be honest I’ll always be on the registry here regardless of where I actually live. But, of it passes we attack it from another way, overloading the sheriff’s office with petty stuff isn’t going to help any one.
Clicked on the linked and looked through the Bill’s that are posted and could not find the above mentioned bill and a little confused as to what it might be in their listings.
I don’t live in Florida anymore and I made my voice heard along with telling people I know who still reside in Florida to oppose these bills. Please don’t camp out a Lauren’s residence it’ll make things worse.
Agreed 10000%. Please don’t say these stupidities when contacting legislators. It will come off as threatening and crazy.
Very true Brandon.. making the “Books” mad makes things worse for floridians on the registry. Also what about the insane amount of floridians that get arrested for a sex crime for the 1st time on a weekly basis knowing full well the consequences & only continue to feed the fire of the registry to trickle down and causes more restrictions.
About 10 years ago Georgia tried to pass legislation to chase all registrants out of Georgia. A few legislatures even admitted that this was the intent of the legislation. All the prosecutors and sheriffs opposed the bills because they didn’t have the resources to enforce it and advised the legislature that other states simply had to pass similar legislation. The legislation failed. The easiest way to kill this bill is to locate the old news articles and send them to all of the sheriffs and prosecutors and say, “good luck enforcing this one”.
Detroit
Don’t be so sure. More things to do for officers / Sheriff Deputies is more Government grants and funding of law enforcement. The Sheriff’s employee who use to check me in once said that registering ex offenders was not what she signed up for when she joined the Sheriff’s office.
She further said she joined the Sheriff’s office to make a difference in the community and that working on registrations almost caused her to quit. She finally got a different assignment. We all miss her. she actually treated us with dignity. I think the Sheriff thought she was being too soft on us.
‘Good luck enforcing this one.’ Every FL registrant law that we previously assumed was unenforceable, has been enforced, to the benefit of multiple sheriffs’ offices and the detriment of hundreds of registrants’ families. This bill isn’t much different.
Brandon:
Smart move. Registrants in Florida have the incredible bad luck of having the Books and being in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Bad combination.
I hope you didn’t relocate to Georgia. They have Jerry Keen who is a Lauren Book on steroids. He can come up with ideas 10 times anything Sweet Lauren can come up with.
I don’t ever see them placing registrants in concentration camps but bet the ones they can’t place in prison or civil commitment will be living in penal colonies. If this happens, it will most likely occur in Georgia or Florida.
I admit I let my emotions get the best of me while reading a bill and being overwhelmed by everything. Please don’t let your emotions get the best of when you write for or against a bill. My hope is things to improve for Florida registrants and their families.
Derek:
I think Lauren has a crush on you. Kind of like the girl that keeps hitting the boy in the third grade.
Tell Gini it’s nice to hear from her. She should post more often.
Perish the thought, Detroit. There’s nothing uglier on a woman than a nasty, hateful personality. Lauren Book can be handed all these arbitrary, meaningless “awards” and have people cater to her and heap praise upon her, but there’s not enough L’Oreal makeup on the planet to hide the ugliness of her soul.
It was our 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln who said, “The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.”
I wonder how to get Senator Book from introducing these bills. Maybe organizers need to throw out 50% spa coupons.
In the agenda it says “redefining” the term sex offender.
Can someone elaborate for me
So, if you have to register four times a year, you get to register the registration office? LOL!
I don’t know. It just seems to me that the more ridiculous and unenforceable the laws become on the Registry, the greater the chance of a judge overturning it when challenged.
I have noticed FAC always wants to point out errors in bills, that even if fixed, would still make the registry easier to enforce and still harder for those on the registry and harder to overturn.
I don’t understand why we should help the lawmakers “fix” their bills for them, when it seems our advantage to have unenforceable, and insane laws on the books that will prove to a judge that the registry is punishment.
Because we have to live with the Bill until it’s challenged, which can be years.
I still think you are wrong to try to correct this bills obviously unenforceable rules.
Do your really think a Sherriff is going to allow an RSO to list his office as a residence?
Do you really think a judge would allow prosecution of an RSO eating dinner at his friends house, or sitting at a stop sign four time a year to be prosecuted for any of the other crazy examples you listed?
I believe you are hurting the chances of our case and also hurting future lawsuits by correcting unenforceable statutes to make them reasonable.
I respect your beliefs. You are welcome to submit as many letters as you like supporting the bill and encourage others to do so. If you like, you can post your own call to action in a comment below.
FAC
And with all the in fighting all of us do, the Books are laughing all the way to the court room. Together we stand, divided we fall.
I think this new bill should be front and center of the Ex post facto arguments. That with every win we get, the other side hits back 100 times harder with newer and more restrictive bills, laws, ordinances, rules and violation traps of quick sand that lead to a nice cozy bed in the department of corrections.
Lord give us strength to not give up and to trust that you have our best interest in your hands. Amen!
And anyone can jump right in to fund the lawsuit Jed tacitly discusses. That is, by not taking action now and if this becomes signed into law by Florida’s Governor, then according to Jed and A, the law would be unenforceable, which would need resolution in the courts. So again, they are welcome to fund that legal expense.
This law will be 100% enforceable. Hundreds already have been jailed for failing to register seemingly trivial items, or for being present somewhere that the law does not allow. This law will give sheriffs more opportunities to arrest the unpopular, hold press conferences claiming credit for having done so, maximize their budgets and win re-election.
It won’t matter whether it’s unreasonable or unconstitutional, though. Court challenge could take years.
This bill, if passed, will be 100% enforceable. If you don’t want to see registrants arrested for the activities for the activities FAC outlined, don’t support the bill.
Some of us used to think that Brevard banishment laws were unenforceable. Then someone got arrested for having breakfast at a Burger King that was opposite the freeway from a health club that had a tennis court.
Some of us also used to think that the state’s broad definition of “vehicles owned” was unenforceable. Yet now people are sitting in jail for untimely registration of their roommate’s work truck.
Give sheriffs the tools to arrest the unpopular, and states’ attorneys the tools to prosecute them, and they will use them.
Of course, some sheriffs and prosecutors will exercise their discretion more wisely. But we don’t know in advance, which ones. They will use the tools the law gives them.
*”arrested for the activities” ugh pardon the repetition where’s my edit button
Thank you Jacob. Some people just don’t get it. Maybe it’s that they don’t see the volume of calls or emails that come in from family of our members who are being held without bond because they didn’t register an email address they forgot they had or an old unregistered trailer they have not used in years, when their underlying sexual offenses were more than a decade ago and they have not had a brush with the law since.
If you look at what happened in Bay County and Brevard last month, you will see that law enforcement ACTIVELY seeks out these petty unknowing violations.
All I am saying is I wouldn’t point out the reason for opposing the bill, but certainly i have written to oppose it in general, stating there are already enough regulations on RSO’s.
If we point out the errors in the bill they will simply correct the wording and we will still be obligated to even more regulations that are harder for a judge to throw out on unreasonable grounds, and to overturn legally.
Please refrain from flippant remarks because a post has differing views from the writers or wants to express another viewpoint. We are all in this together. I was just making a point some may not have thought about.
Jed,
If you read the “bill analysis” it states the purpose of the change is to “Clarify Calculation of Days”. If all the senators see is that it “clarifies” they will think it’s harmless. If it’s pointed out that it actually redefines days to mean “part of a day” they will realize it’s absurd.
I believe the registry should be completely and utterly abolished. But until that happens, the least we can try to do is fight every istance where the noose is tightened. This is one of those times.
This issue with the word “day” is a way bigger deal than you may think. The law is vague. As others have stated, there may be times you need to be in a place multiple days in Florida. Should I have to go there to fight a case, for example, I would have to keep tabs on how long i am staying not just in a location but also the county.
Since day means any part of a day according to this definition, it is easy to see why that may be a problem. “Any part of a day” can be anything from an hour to a minute or a second because this law is subject to any interpretation.
Yes, the state can be sued, and FAC has been able to raise funds for litigation but litigation is costly and takes years. Hell, I am still fighting a SLAPP suit from 2016. And the Covid crisis has slowed courts even in Florida, which has done less than most states when it comes to Covid protocols. In the meantime, potentially hundreds, if not thousands, of registered persons could face problems related to the new law.
That is why trying to fight the definition is important. Fighting a bill is cheaper than fighting a law.
We have to fight the snallstuff and the big stuff when it arises.
Jed-
I totally agree with you!
40 emails sent and a request to some of my non FAC friends to do the same. Lets fill their emails with our thoughts!!
Flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/234/BillText/Filed/PDF
Cherokeejack:
Is she willing to sign an affidavit saying that the registry is a waste. Keep track of any police that view this as a huge waste because their views are what’s most compelling in court. They don’t have to testify. An affidavit is admissible in court.
Detroit
She is a sweet lady but doubt she is going to risk her job (She still works for the same agency, just in different position). She was very vocal about how she felt about how we are treated but I do not blame her for not wanting to throw herself under the bus.
Am I reading this bill right? It says that the first day a person establishes permanent, temporary OR transient residence IS excluded? So I can travel out of state, spend a “day” in a hotel, then travel to another state and stay at another hotel for a “day” and so on, and I don’t have to register or count ANY of those days to have to register…. So I can keep going back to the same hotel for a “day” and since the first day is excluded not count that “day” on the aggregate of a year? Providing I don’t stay after mid-night… I mean I LOVE to drive at night! I am being facetious! Except for the part of being excluded…
That’s correct. That’s the way it has always been. You can even stay 2 days in each hotel.
And yet vcso stopped me and told me to add my travel time TO the out of state location i was driving to. Granted i was staying three days but they forced me to add the two days of travel time. I wasnt staying 5 days just leaving on the third. They were pretty harsh about it. Also asking what car im driving. I havent been on any paper anywhere in 23 years. I take monthly trips and theyre getting harsher and harsher. Now i need to call the moment i get back and if i get back earlier i need to go in person
Derek:
She is absolutely obsessed with you and sex offenders in general. I think she has something going on deep down inside. It’s clear that this obsession is morbid and unhealthy. It may not be the ugliness of the soul. I think the problem is between the ears. Maybe we can get her civilly committed.
Jed:
You are correct. Reasonableness is the touchstone of due process. The more a law is unreasonable the better the chance that the law will be found unconstitutional.
FAC is correct as to the practical effect of these laws. They negatively affect peoples lives in a very real way. Registrants need to get behind organizations like FAC to push for changes in these laws either through legislation or through a civil action. FAC and other organizations have a long row to hoe. Look how long it is taking to reach the goal of $25,000 for their expost facto sustainer challenge. Persons with an interest in these laws simply are not donating sufficient funds to touch on every issue of the registry.
There are two ways you can look at it. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is one of the toughest circuits in the U.S. and FAC is receiving funds sufficient to maintain a couple of issues and lacks the resources to address the broader issues and issues that develop in new legislation. By having an incredibly unreasonable law it may wake up the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals but this is even doubtful.
Or you can have patience and keep treading water in Florida while registrants have success in other states and wait until the 11th Circuit comes around. FAC is doing what it can with what it has to work with. If registrants aren’t willing to do more fundraising in Florida it is more prudent to keep treading water in Florida until the 11th Circuit comes around and ameliorate the suffering of registrants in the meantime. If I were a registrant in Florida, I would be supporting FAC in their efforts to ameliorate my suffering and push for more fundraising.
Unreasonable laws can last a lifetime before courts overturn them, if they ever do.
No advantage is conferred by an unreasonable law. That’s why we need to do our best to slow down a bad bill before it becomes law.
Please give real numbers. Like what number ex post facto sustainer we are on now? And the up front cost we needed to raise to get this started. What a slap in the face. Considering a lot of Offenders can’t work since Florida decided to give them a scarlet letter on there license.
Detroit
It is not that all of us don’t WANT to help, some of us CANNOT. I can only speak for me but the registry took EVERYTHING from me.
I have no job, no home (Had to move in with elderly parents) no health insurance, Do NOT qualify for food stamps because my parents take care of me, no income and did not qualify for a stimulus check because I have not worked since the early 2000’s.
I owe Florida hospital over $120,000.00 in medical bills for a heart attack I had in 2014 for a 12 day stay and numerous tests and procedures. Every year I think they are going to write it off but they keep sending me to collections.
One of the reasons for funding shortages, is because not everyone can afford to donate. Think of those who do not and cannot obtain employment, and those who cannot use the internet, and those who aren’t even aware FAC exists, etc. Now imagine that is just us in this situation, it doesn’t even touch the loads of people who could help that don’t, won’t, and those who don’t know or care. You know, those who still have rights and the ability to help make a change, the whole of society.
The Senate already cast enough yays last month to push for it’s approval.
One committee – Children and Families, which is chaired by Lauren Book.
Next up on Monday is Judicial Committee, which she is not on. That’s why we reserved our CALL TO ACTION for now.
Look, we’re not forcing anyone to take any action. If, for whatever reason, you want this to pass or you think it’s not worthy of your time, don’t do anything or support the bill. All we can do is bring it to everyone’s attention, let them know how it will impact us, give directions and talking points for those who are on our side of this fight and ask people to support our efforts.
It sounds like it was planned and approved behind closed quarters before it was even introduced openly.
There are more pressing issues in our society and this is the crap they waste their time on.
I just read the Bill, I encourage everyone to at least review it’s contents before commenting on it. By reading a lot of these comments it does not seem everyone has reviewed it. Here is the link: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/234/BillText/c1/PDF
By the way, one of the most damaging things I read is that if you are going to another country they will automatically notify that countries authorities, so you will have a mark on you before you even arrive!
Folks, please read and digest this stuff, then you decide if it’s worth the time and effort, I have and believe it is.
Learned how to be totally alone and isolate, Quess now be even more such. Not by choose mind you, but by force.
By the way, in our many hyperbolic examples of strict enforcement of the law, considering a day is any part of a day, and a minute can be a part of a day, then we can be forced to register in as little as 4 minutes if each minute falls on a different day.
So if I decided to protest a certain Senator that rhymes with Crook, for example, I could be required to register by strict interpretation of the law should I decide to stop in front of said Senator’s house even to pray for this person for a single minute.
After all, nothing states the minutes even have to be continual, simply a part of a day of three consecutive days. So I could stop at say nokn for a minute each day. Monday doesn’t count. Tuesday, Wednesday, that’s two days, Thursday I must register.
This bill is beyond absurd. Again, what do you expect from a senator who thinks a peaceful protest is violent stalking?
Okay, so another failed attempt to stop a bill before it becomes law. Nobody spoke in opposition, there was no debate. All our pleas fell on deaf ears once again.
So what’s next? Raising thousands of dollars to mount a court challenge that would take years?
Why do we even try?
Or we can get some members in Tallahassee to show up for the next committee it will come before. Why not try that?
Maybe we should hold a prayer vigil in front of Lauren’s house.
I emailed all the Senators on the Judiciary Committee on the weekend. Paying dues this week.
Is a companion bill in the House now?
Do we need to be contacting our representatives? Or have we done enough.