Weekly Update 2018-01-18

Dear Members and Advocates,

This week we are calling on your help to rally against the proposed amendment to the Miami-Dade County Overnight Camping Amendment. The suggested change (also referred to as the “Bovo” amendment – File Number: 180088) to Section 21-286 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, would allow police to arrest transient sex offenders on sight. Currently, law enforcement must afford the homeless the opportunity to go to a homeless shelter before arresting them. The amendment would exempt sex offenders and predators from that opportunity and enable police to simply arrest them for their homelessness.

The amendment passed the Public Safety and Health Committee on December 13, 2017 and is on the agenda to be voted on by the full committee this coming Tuesday, January 23, 2018. We are looking for volunteers in or near Miami-Dade County who can appear at the meeting and read Florida Action Committee’s position into the record at the start of the meeting. Naturally, Ron Book is the Lobbyist who is pushing for the amendment so that he can solve the problem of the 250+ person homeless encampment by the tracks, by putting them in Jail. We know how influential he and his campaign contributions can be, so we need to show up and speak out.

The meeting information is:

Date/Time:	January 23, 2018 9:30 a.m. –
Address:	111 NW 1st Street 2nd Floor Commission Chambers Miami, FL 33128

If you can appear and speak at the meeting, please contact gail@floridaactioncommittee.org immediately. This would be the most powerful thing we can do to oppose this horrible piece of legislation.

Alternatively, if you would like to prepare a statement for the record, you can send it to Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, c/o Daysha McBride (dmcbrid@miamidade.gov) and be sure to ask that it be referenced, for the record at the meeting, and given to the Commissioners in anticipation of the County Commission Meeting to be held on 1/23/2018.

A copy of our position on this matter can be found at: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Letter-To-M-D-County-Commissioners-12132017.pdf you can use any of the information in there as guidance in drafting your own letters, but please make sure to personalize your own letters with your own information and opinion.

This week, the ‘Operation Push’ protest began. The protest is an inmate work stoppage in prisons across Florida in peaceful demonstration against the harsh conditions in the Florida Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice. It started this Monday and is expected to last a month. In 2017, 407 people died in Florida state prisons (and in case you are wondering, no, less than 1/3 were from natural causes). A special thanks to the FAC members who organized in support of the protesters. If you still want to get involved, you can write a letter in support of the protestors and against the conditions complained of to:

Julie Jones, Secretary

Florida Department of Corrections

501 South Calhoun Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399-2500

You can also write (or copy your letter) to your local news outlets. The more community support these protesters receive, the better. Also, if the DOC knows that members of the public are keeping an eye on what’s going on, they will be less likely to take punitive measures to silence the protestors. Some institutions have already cancelled visitation privileges.

Please make 2018 the year you take action!

Sincerely,

The Florida Action Committee

 

SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK

 

Florida prisoners launch month-long work strike

On Monday, prisoners across Florida launched “Operation Push” a month-long work stoppage intended to be a peaceful protest to conditions at Florida prisons. Among their issues is the fact that Florida is one of only five states which don’t pay their inmates for prison…

Another Reason why Sex Offender Registration Fees are a Bad Idea

Sex offender registration fees are a bad idea. Setting aside the constitutionality of charging individuals for the “privilege” of registering as a sex offender – something that’s not only involuntary but that all would certainly prefer not to do – and claiming it’s…

American children’s high mortality rates; sex offenders are not the cause.

The UK Daily Mail reported last week that “American children are 60% more likely to die before their 20’s than kids in other wealthy countries.” But how can that be? For a nation that prides itself on being pioneers in public health and safety, how is it that our…

ACSOL: IML Lawsuit Filed

A lawsuit was filed today in the Central District of the U.S. District Court of California challenging regulations issued by the State Department that announced the addition of a “unique identifier” to the passports of some registrants. Addition of the identifier to…