Brevard County Commissioners Unanimously Pass Amendment Allowing Businesses to Certify as Parks
We didn’t expect anything otherwise, but the Brevard County Commissioners unanamously passed the Amendment allowing businesses to self-certify as parks, thereby preventing anyone on the registry from coming within 1000 feet of their businesses.
The good news is there is already a lawsuit in place.
There cannot possibly be a court at the State or Federal level that can find this constitutional and allow it to stand. I hope they are asking for a Stay while the case is being litigated.
Alan
I am passing an ordinance to make all food at my local Walmart free to registrants. That actually, although crazy, makes more sense than what the county is passing. Because the King or Queen says it, it makes it so?
So, a Tattoo parlor is now a park? A dog grooming shop now doubles as daycare? That last one makes more sense since it might be a doggy day care with a stretch of the imagination.
There is truly something wrong with these people. They are not looking out for their community in any way at all. If this is not pure evil then explain to me what is?
Thank you FAC and thank you to everyone who wrote letters and showed up. Reminder FAC can always use donations.
Mp
And all these cities are doing is, pushing people off on other cities making it, “Their problem”. Look at south Florida, there was only a bridge underpass left to go to and the city even took that away. Essentially pushing human beings to wander looking for a new place to sleep.
I expected nothing less. Not at all being a negative Nancy, but I knew they were Hell bent on doing this and 1 million opposers would not have changed their mind. My hopes are this will be another eventual legal challenge win costing the county a pretty penny.
Any judge who cannot see that this will essentially make it to where registered individuals will have no place to live, sleep, shop or dine, needs to re-read the constitution. Godspeed to the Lawyers who take on this case.
Agree
Out of curiosity, are or will any business owners adversely affected somehow be included in the lawsuit? Wondering if any businesses near a “self certified” business would take on the cause of their right to freely provide goods/services to whomever they choose being infringed upon. It really seems to go against more people’s freedom than just people on the registry.
That is an excellent argument!
That is a good point. The courts are ruling in favor of religious freedom, such as pharmacists not selling birth control or bakers not providing cakes to same sex couples. Would this ordinance and those that might be coming, be held in the same regard? I don’t know legal theory all that well, but I hope not. I just feel like this ordinance is legalized discrimination
Brevard businesses remain free to serve whomever they wish without penalty. It’s a certain customer who must be careful.
Which business do we think will be the first to go on record as suing the county for the right to take in sex offenders? Would we view that as an effective marketing strategy?
A potential plaintiff I could see is the landlady who rents to the registrants at the meeting if any business nearby one of her homes declares itself “park”
One issue, though, is that certain businesses could lose customers over this. I spoke with one businessman who said that there are many business owners who do not care if a person is on the registry; it is all about their being a paying customer.
How many bars, restaurants, retail stores, etc. care whether or not someone is on the registry? There are well over 800 registrants in Brevard, many of whom are paying customers to these businesses.
Sadly, Fischer Nissan, in Titusville, just lost a sale. My friend needed me to go with her to help pick out a new car. She lives near the Fischer dealership. I told her about my concerns with travelling in Brevard and took her to an Orange County dealer instead. She bought a new expensive Rogue. I will probably let Fischer know about this and cc: to the commissioners.
This is a good idea!
GO< GO< GO
RAYO
Is my HERO………..
If I was a girl in another life, I would be your cheerleader LOL
I was going to say we need to protest these places that choose to become parks, but then I realized we cannot get within X amount of distance from them 🙁
Media
And, at any register, people come and go in a store spending money and no one knows their history/past. And generally, all most businesses care about is getting a sale. If I ran a business, as long as someone was not causing problems, if they want to buy what I was selling, as long as they got the money, that is all I would care about.
I wouldn’t care what race, gender, religion, political stance or criminal history status. A customer is a customer, unless, like I said it is a troublemaker like a frequent shoplifter. If they are going to start banning us from anywhere people gather, we are all going to have to live in tents in the desert.
It’s true that business owners don’t mind serving sex offenders; but that is not the same as publicly calling attention to their right to do so. Not every Fischer Nissan customer is comfortable being aware that sex offenders are welcome in the same showroom. If a business like Fischer joined a public lawsuit, would they gain more customers than they lose? We don’t know, so Fischer might prefer to continue to deal with customers more discreetly.
You might respond, labeling all registrants as sex offenders and creating fear of them conducting normal business dealings is irrational. And you’d be right, but a business would need to be ready for how their lawsuit would be portrayed in the press, how their competitors and customer base would respond, and how commissioners would capitalize on the resulting controversy.
Considering this, do we still think there is any business that would view a lawsuit as financially compelling?
Jacob
“SEX offenders walk among us”. That could be the headlines. Having said that, it is TRUE. I shop at walmart, publix, The gas station, Target, CVS, Taco bell and 100s of more places. We ALL do. At any given time in a super walmart there could be more than 5 sex offenders in the store, Previous and those who haven’t been caught.
Having said that, I do not go to walmart to hide in the dressing rooms waiting to offend. I go there to buy a few essentials and then leave, I do not loiter around waiting to get my jollies. And most of us do not.
Seems what may end up happening is what happened during house arrest. I had to write down a weekly schedule stating where I would be going, what time that would be and how long I would be there. If it comes to that, it would be a no brainer that it is at that point punitive and overly restrictive.
I have not seen anything in the news about roving packs of sex offenders perving out at stores anywhere, have you? And yes occasionally someone is on the news for doing just that, but more times than not, it is not someone on the registry.
Seems to me that this is just abuse of power and discriminatory.
When will this endless scapegoating end. Can’t those in government take on some actual problems and do their jobs instead of grandstanding passing these useless “feel good” laws that do more harm to children by giving parents a false sense of security?
Perhaps they should be held liable for the next child abduction because I can virtually guarantee that it will NOT be done by someone on the hit list!
This may only end when the Commissioner s are no longer seated at that podium! So those of us that can vote, vote them out of there! Hopefully their opponents are better than they are!! One at a time or two at a time however they go, it’s a must!!
Although, did commissioner Smith have anything to say about this issue? Is he the only one that seemed to not have an opinion? I wonder why? Commissioner Zonka has clearly been pulling numbers from the purchasing card audit , Commissioner Pritchett, I am not sure where she has been , but her story is the same ol, same ol, she needs to come up with something new! Don’t get me started on the one Commissioner whose favorite word seems to be “UH”,I mean, can he say more than two words without the hesitation. He is a hypocrite and possibly needs to be the first one to go off the board.
Those of you that spoke at the meeting, you did great. You held your emotions, for the most part, you didn’t engage past your allotted time. Thank you for your strength and courage to stand up to them and be heard!
Great , we need to start a business next to the Sheriffs Office and Probation offices. Cant register and report. lol
Bill
Then all they would do is grant an “Exception” for that location. Isn’t it funny how everything seems to work in THEIR favor? Don’t like something, create an ordinance.
And we are not the only ones being treated like this, the homeless get pushed from place to place. I know of several places in my area where law enforcement came in with bulldozers and evicted them all recently.
Bill, that’s a pretty good idea in my opinion. Wish I had the money for such a venture and to pay for the legal defenses of all RCs who would be charged for failing to register. If only I was a Powerball winner.
That is a great idea
It’s not a great idea. Often people throw stuff out there without even reading the ordinance and others who also have not read the ordinance jump on the bandwagon. There are two exemptions to the Brevard proximity ordinance that the Sheriff would likely claim allow registrants to visit the Sheriff’s office to register: To…
(2) Comply with a request or court order from the judiciary, a correctional facility or a law enforcement entity;
(3) Attend a scheduled meeting or interview with criminal justice personnel at a criminal justice facility;
So if someone is ordered to comply with registration and compliance requires in person reporting at a Sheriff’s office, the location would likely fall within an exemption to the proximity ordinance.
Aside from the fact that it would likely not accomplish the goal you are trying to achieve, the suggestion that “we start a business” is not a viable game plan for FAC as an organization or the overwhelming majority of our members as individuals.
It was said earlier that there was an exemtion for legal services, is that true for non criminal legal representation? Such as estate or divorce?
except to:
(1)
Attend a scheduled interview or meeting with a social service provider licensed by the state;
(2)
Comply with a request or court order from the judiciary, a correctional facility or a law enforcement entity;
(3)
Attend a scheduled meeting or interview with criminal justice personnel at a criminal justice facility;
(4)
Attend a bona fide educational institution as a registered student;
(5)
Attend a scheduled or emergency health care visit with a licensed physician;
(6)
As a result of fulfilling legally allowable duties imposed by gainful employment;
(7)
Transport children within their legal custody to and from school or daycare without any undue delay or loitering on premises;
(8)
Seek refuge in a public shelter that has been officially designated by the county or any municipality to house sexual offenders or sexual predators during times of impending natural disasters or acts of terrorism;
(9)
Attend a scheduled legal consultation meeting with an attorney who is recognized as a licensed member of the bar of the state;
(10)
Attend a church service or function;
(11)
Vote at a designated polling place within his or her district, obtain a vote-by-mail ballot from the supervisor of elections, or deliver a vote-by-mail ballot to a secure drop box of the supervisor of elections or office of the supervisor of elections;
(12)
If the sexual offender or sexual predator is the parent or guardian of a person under 18 years of age, provided the sexual offender or sexual predator has declared his or her status as a sexual offender or sexual predator prior to entering the school property and has either scheduled a set time period to enter upon the property with the principal or designee or immediately notifies the principal or designee upon entering the school property:
a.
Attend a scheduled conference at school with school personnel to discuss the progress of his or her child academically or socially;
b.
Participate in scheduled child review conferences in which evaluation and placement decisions may be made or considered with respect to his or her child regarding special education services; or
c.
Attend scheduled conferences to discuss other student issues concerning his or her child such as retention and promotion,
(13)
If the sexual offender or sexual predator lawfully resides within 1,000 feet of any school, day care center, park or playground, he or she may enter into or remain within 1,000 feet of such school, day care center, park or playground for the purposes of travel to and from his or her residence, and any other bona fide activity arising from the ordinary maintenance and activities associated with such residence.
(14)
If the sexual offender or sexual predator wishes to be present at a public meeting held on Brevard County government property that is within a 1,000-foot buffer zone, he/she may do so provided that no less than 24 hours prior to entering the Brevard County government property for the purpose of being present at a public meeting, the sexual offender or sexual predator has notified the county manager’s office and the county sheriff’s office of:
a.
The sexual offender or sexual predator’s status as a sexual offender or sexual predator; and
b.
The sexual offender or sexual predator’s intention to be present at the public meeting.
When a sexual offender or sexual predator enters upon Brevard County government property pursuant to this subsection the sexual offender or sexual predator shall, upon adjournment of the public meeting, promptly depart from the Brevard County government property without any undue delay or loitering on premises. For purposes of this subsection, the term “Brevard County government property” does not include school property.
(15)
If the sexual offender or sexual predator needs to enter Brevard County government property within a 1,000-foot buffer zone to conduct official government business, he/she may do so provided that no less than 24 hours prior to entering the Brevard County government property to conduct official government business, the sexual offender or sexual predator has notified the county manager’s office and the county sheriff’s office of:
a.
The sexual offender or sexual predator’s status as a sexual offender or sexual predator; and
b.
The sexual offender or sexual predator’s intention to enter the Brevard County government property for official government business.
When a sexual offender or sexual predator enters upon Brevard County government property pursuant to this subsection the sexual offender or sexual predator shall promptly depart from the Brevard County government property without any undue delay or loitering on premises after completing official government business. For purposes of this subsection, the term “Brevard County government property” does not include school property.
(16)
If the sexual offender or sexual predator wishes to be present at a public meeting held on county school board property or local municipality government property that is within a 1,000-foot buffer zone, he/she may do so provided that no less than 24 hours prior to entering the county school board property or local municipality government property, the sexual offender or sexual predator has notified the county school board or local municipality’s designee, as applicable, and the law enforcement agency that is primarily responsible for general enforcement of state and local law at the location of:
a.
The sexual offender or sexual predator’s status as a sexual offender or sexual predator; and
b.
The sexual offender or sexual predator’s intention to enter county school board property or local municipality government property to be present at the public meeting.
When a sexual offender or sexual predator enters upon county school board property or local municipality government property pursuant to this subsection, the sexual offender or sexual predator shall, upon adjournment of the public meeting, promptly depart from the county school board property or local municipality government property without any undue delay or loitering on premises. This subsection does not apply to meetings described in 74-102(b)(12) above.
(17)
If the sexual offender or sexual predator needs to enter county school board property or a local municipality government property within a 1,000-foot buffer zone to conduct official government business, he/she may do so provided no less than 24 hours prior to entering the county school board property or local municipality government property, the sexual offender or sexual predator has notified the county school board or local municipality designee, as applicable, and the law enforcement agency that is primarily responsible for general enforcement of state and local law at the location of:
a.
The sexual offender or sexual predator’s status as a sexual offender or sexual predator; and
b.
The sexual offender or sexual offender’s intention to enter county school board property or local municipality government property for official government business.
When a sexual offender or sexual predator enters upon County School Board property or local municipality government property pursuant to this subsection, the sexual offender or sexual predator shall promptly depart from the county school board property or local municipality government property without any undue delay or loitering on premises after completing official government business. This subsection does not apply to meetings described in 74.102(b)(12) above.
(18)
If a governmental agency holds a public meeting at a location other than its own property and within a 1,000-foot buffer zone provided by this section, the notice provision of the governmental agency holding the meeting shall apply.
(19)
With respect to subsections (14)—(18) above, in the event a governmental agency holds an emergency public meeting and the 24-hour notice provision cannot be met, the sexual offender or sexual predator shall provide notice as soon as reasonably possible, but at a minimum, must provide it to law enforcement present upon entering the governmental building.
So we have to give notice and get permission to be on a school property escorting our kids, but school shooters seem to walk right in unchallenged and unnoticed? Unreal.
School shooters are also not permitted on school property.
If you choose to walk in without notifying and risk being unchallenged and unnoticed, you can take that risk.
This is a curious listing of allowed conditions. Most curious are the hoops required when the public meeting is within 1000 feet, yet zero hoops are required when the public meeting is outside of the exclusion zone?
Yes, because in that case the meeting would be outside the exclusion zone and there are no hoops required.
Most of those exceptions look exactly like the exceptions that I had for probation.
I think people took my comment a little to serious. It was a jest. lol