Brevard County sticks by tough ordinance restricting sex offenders
Brevard County commissioners reaffirmed their tough stance toward registered sex offenders by making only making minor changes to a regulation limiting where they can go — even as the measure is being challenged in court.
The commission updated section 74 of the county code on Tuesday to allow businesses to register as a park so long as the business is used for recreation and is a place that children regularly visit. That will enable the owner to create a 1,000-foot buffer zone prohibiting any individual on the sex offender registry from visiting the site or transacting business.
The ordinance that was codified back in 2020 extended the restrictions on registered sex offenders from an ordinance passed back in 2006, barring people on the registry from entering within 1,000 feet of a school or recreation area, such as a park or gymnasium where children may be present.
That 2020 update extended the prohibition to businesses, applying the rule to businesses that register with the county to be included in the definition of a park. The measure was marred by controversy even then, with advocates, along with friends and family of registered sex offenders, attending the meetings and urging commissioners to reconsider.
“It’s disappointing that it took a lawsuit before the Brevard County Commissioners would honor our clients’ right to free speech and to address their elected representatives,” said Jessica Travis, a local attorney helping registered offenders with their case. “You don’t have to like our clients’ history to appreciate that all United States citizens have constitutional rights.”
It was a disgraceful display by the county commissioners. We will need to continue suing them until they wake up or find themselves out on the street.
And next, will individual homeowners also be able to declare their property to be “a park” where children gather??
This is obvious a Intentional directed misuse of a law for a purpose it was not designed. How on earth does a Business Identify as a Park? I guess they will have to adhere to zoning and Tax consequences also?. Can I bring my Animals to this “Park” I just cant believe a legal argument does not clearly show this is getting used to do something it does not cover. Does a Park not have a legal Definition? Ok so my Bike is now classified as a car?, This must stop! A business clearly is not a Park and no voting from a Quasi Board in Florida should be able to change the legal definition of such.
Kudos to the Capt for making FL Today!
The more we speak the truth in public, the more the press picks it up.
We all should use our talents, time and/or resources to in some way engage and fight back. How? Well, donate to an organization like FAC or others that are in this fight. A few dollars can add up to making an impact…or volunteer we need your talents and experience in your areas of strength.
I have a feeling that this nonsence will continue to escalate untill someone just snaps. And I mean in a bad way. I hope it never happens. But a person can only be pushed so far beofre they break. Much like the civil rights fight many years ago. This garbage at some point will implode in some way or another. I’m sure of it. These commissioners some day will understand thay there money and influence will only take them so far. I hope this is ended peacefully. Some Registrants have already paid with there life’s. I hope not one more has too.
I was thinking the same thing. Eventually this nonsense is going to get so bad that perhaps some registered persons will feel they have nothing more to lose and will snap and burn the whole city to the ground.
Hopefully that will never happen, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it did.
I for one, am sick and tired of people lumping all of us into one category. Everything they do seems to be about “protecting children”, but not every registered person’s case involved a child. I’m sick and tired of the public thinking that we have nothing better to do than to try to abduct their kids.
I hate to say it, but if I saw a school bus crash, I probably would drive right on by because I wouldn’t want anyone to think I was trying to molest the kids instead of rescuing them.
The race riots that took place before and during the civil rights movement suggest this outcome is inevitable, should history be our guide.
Let’s hope that there are some in our judicial branch with better judgement than our legislators and general populace. Unfortunately for us, we rarely instruct our children on our troubled history and, even more unfortunate, we have even shorter memories.
Constitutional Rights? I don’t think so. The only rights you have are what they tell you and they have the Supreme Court to back them. It is pretty funny in a way. The Constitution was written by the people to protect us from the Government, yet the Government tells us what the Constitution says and what our rights are. As a Registered Sex Offenders, We have less than anyone. Any questions about that just ask Government.
Very few realize that fact. The greatest threat to freedom loving people has never been crime, but tyranny by the hand of their own government. It is the reason our country was founded and the reason our founding documents were created. Yet we have a track record of being tyrannical to disfavored groups throughout our history.
I find myself wondering which lawsuit, which issue, which complaint will be the one to serve as “the last straw?” Obviously the BCC believe the law is on their side and are taking it to the extreme.
As a result, this story does in fact bring up a very interesting Constituional question: Can business owners legally refuse service to people not in a legally covered protective status?
The answer, I’m afraid, is yes. As a private business owner they could also deny entry to fat people or to tall people, anyone not in a protected class. That is a reality of the law that, for us, is unfortunate.
I think we have proven to ourselves that we are not going to win this in the newspapers, at county meetings or by appealing to the public. We are going to win this thing in the Courts. We can’t force people to like us but we are going to have to force the application of our Constitutional Civil Rights.
Obviously, this has not been easy. We live in a country whose Courts have already said that felons are such horrible people that they no longer have the right to VOTE and we seem to be at peace with not voting. No Court has been able to be convinced yet that taking away the right to vote from 6 million people is a problem. I have a feeling the same cannot be said for being denied entry into a store, which begs the question which is truly more important? So our fight is tough one. Maybe other fights will need to be won first.
Which lawsuit will finally be the one? I’m willing to keep on to find out.
“I think we have proven to ourselves that we are not going to win this in the newspapers, at county meetings or by appealing to the public. We are going to win this thing in the Courts.”
This statement is the biggest problem with our movement. Too few Persons Forced to Register have the guts to stand up to our oppressors. Instead, we have entire groups of Eeyores who come to FAC and elsewhere to grumble and wait for that one magical Court case that just gives us our rights back.
There are two things you need to realize.
Judges have the same biases and get their facts from the same place everyone else does.
The courts of the civil rights era were very liberal; today’s courts are largely staunchly conservative. And conservatives vote to uphold these laws far more often.
In a perfect world, every event one of our groups puts together, be it a county commission meeting or a vigil in DC, would attract hundreds, or even thousands, of Registered Persons and their loved ones.
The REAL reason little gets accomplished is too few people come out to any of our events and participate, whether it be out of fear or selfishness or the Eeyore mentality. Over the years, the hardest part of organizing events is just convincing our own people to support AND PARTICIPATE, which is harder to do at times than trying to convince Ron/Lauren Book or John Tobia or Barney Bishop they’re clearly in the wrong.
Change starts with YOU. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.
I used to think as you do Derek, that if enough people would just stand up and be willing to say, “enough!” But then I witnessed Occupy Wall Street, the Black Lives Matter movement and the January 6th event and how ineffective those protests were at actually changing anything – and those events were about issues that were popular with millions of people! I’ve seen how the media twists and turns our appearances on TV news. So yes, I believe it will be that “magical case” and that’s what I am waiting and working for. In regards to our current focus (ex post facto) one case did it (Smith v Doe) and one case can undo it. All the Court has to do is revisit that case, declare sex offender laws punishment and ‘poof’ the main sting of what a group like Brevard County is trying to do is gone. Yes, moving forward, we still have issues and yes getting rid of the registry entirely is the ultimate of our wishes, but we can cross those bridges when we get to them. I speak for myself when I say that once the Court says punishment, this nightmare is over for me. And many people are in my same shoes. No, it won’t necessarily save all of us, but wow what a difference that would make. It just takes one case and it will be magical!
You’re looking at unsuccessful movements that failed for many reasons but don’t look at movements that succeeded, like the civil rights movement.
In regards to the Occupy movement, what happened there was 99% (no pun intended) of them came for the initial marches in their community but didn’t stick around after day one. They came and did their one day march, then ent back to slaving for the man. And the few that remained tried to take on too much (feminists, environmentalists, and animal rights activists tried to draw folks to their movements, which detracted from their message. And, there was the struggle over the nature of how they “occupied” an area, i.e., many people stayed there in tents and made a mess of the place. The Occupy Movement also lacked leaders and a structure. That is why it fell apart. Unlike Occupy, we at least have a structure and a clear goal in mind, although some of us are istracted by unrelated issues.
BLM riots and the 1/6 insurrection weren’t peaceful protests and nothing like Occupy. Even if some went with good intentions, many others did not.
If you’re honestly sitting and waiting for that magical case, prepare for a lifetime of disappointment.
Smith v. Doe is NOT going to be overturned anytime soon. Smith v Doe was a 6-3 ruling with one liberal justice (Souter) voting with the conservatives. With Breyer retiring, that leaves Thomas as the sole justice who voted on that case, Thomas, who obviously voted to upholds the registry. Adding insult to injury, John Roberts was the state’s attorney who infamously compared registration to joining the Price Club.
We now have a 6-3 supermajority in SCOTUS. There is absolutely no chance in hell they’d vote to rehear Smith v Doe much less repeal it. Until we have a liberal court, we will NEVER have a fair chance at overturning Smith v Doe.
Courts alone never saved any successful movement. it took more than a court ruling to make the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s a success, and some will argue their work was never truly completed.
I personally think that it will take those same antagonists experiencing our pain for real change to occur. When the registry is so bloated with people discarded by society that every family will be touched, then perhaps they will be forced to really confront the issue, instead of banishing us away, out of sight and out of mind.
Amazon needs to open small children’s clothing stores in strip malls anchored by Wal-Marts and Targets and register them as “parks” so that the RSOs can only shop online! Maybe in time there can be complete banishment like Mequon, WI! Here, check out THIS map! (especially if you are familiar with the Pleasant Prairie, WI lawsuit)
https://www.ci.mequon.wi.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/police/page/2581/official_sex_offender_restrictions_map_-june_2021-_website.pdf
“I think I have spoken pretty passionately on this item,” Commission Chair Kristine Zonka said. “I just wish people would stop calling themselves registered citizens and call themselves registered sex offenders or registered predators, which is really what they are. They are so proud to be here and demand rights.”
Commissioner, you have no right to define me, but your flagrant ignorance was on full display for all to see.
To them, we’re just things to be used as a means to a political end. They really are “passionate” about their hate and performative outrage.
In fact, that’s ALL this is – outrage bait for power, control and votes.
Amen! That’s for sure. She was on full display of her ignorance.
I loved the fact that Commissioner Tobias was called out for the fact that no businesses signed up. Wouldn’t it be a huge embarrassment for them if they couldn’t even get one business to go along with their ridiculous scheme?
In regards to commissioner Tobia, I’ve never seen anyone turn a Panama Jack Hat into a Panama Jackass Hat before.
Commissioner Krusty Zonka is a nurse at Health First Medical Group in Palm Bay. Do you think she’s ever denied services to a person on the registry?