Educate Your Legislator – Letter with Timeline
In the Weekly Update for October 30, 2021 we suggested that you choose one or more Florida Legislators that you personally want to educate on the issues related to the FL Registry. You can start by sending them a copy of the timeline provided by our legal committee. The Timeline shows the Registry requirements added year after year that do not protect society but have increased the punishment on law-abiding citizens who are forced to remain on the registry. Click Here to Download the Timeline or this shorter version of the timeline.
PLEASE volunteer to participate in the Letter Campaign and share this timeline with some of our legislators before the next session that runs from January 11, 2022 through March 11, 2022. Links to the Contact information for each Senator and House Representative can be found at the end of this post.
- Choose one or more Legislators and/or Senators that represent your district or surrounding districts
- Let the Media Committee know who you intend to educate so we can minimize duplications and ensure all Legislators are receiving the information. Add it to the comments on this post, or email media@floridaactioncommittee.org or leave message at 833-273-7325, Option 2
- Write your letter explaining how the state of Florida has gone from 3 to over 50 requirements, which were passed without the support of research-based data, forcing the requirements on thousands of law-abiding citizens, and their families. Use your name when corresponding with your Legislator, and be respectful. YOUR LETTER WILL BECOME PUBLIC RECORD.
- Print a copy of the Timeline, hand-write the address to the Representative on a regular envelope and enclose the Timeline with your letter.
Keep your personal letter short, no more than one typed page, and stay focused on one topic/concern. Other points you may want to include in your letter that explain the Timeline:
- You are sharing with them the history of the statutes that Florida has passed almost yearly to further punish people on the Sex Offense Registry who are now law-abiding citizens, many with families that are also impacted by the restrictions.
- Mention that the timeline shows how the number of statutes has grown from three in 1997 to fifty-two this past year, with no change in public safety. The registry is no longer a help to law enforcement, but rather a continuing punishment for thousands of people in the state of Florida who are trying to remain compliant. The additional requirements, if failed to report, carry stiff penalties.
- Acknowledge that there are some dangerous people on the registry who need to be closely monitored, but they are in the minority. Since FL does not use Risk Assessments to determine status, and lumps all persons into the same categories, then monitoring high risk persons is not possible.
- Unlike other crimes, all research shows a low sexual recidivism rate for people who have been caught committing a sex crime and have served their time. Risks are further reduced by the number of years that a person has been offense-free.
- Encourage the legislator to support having the state use empirically validated risk assessments (and not the offense) to focus only on the truly dangerous people on the registry. Stop wasting tax dollars and Law enforcement resources monitoring persons who are law-abiding.
Our goal is to reach all Florida legislators, and if sending duplicate copies to some legislators occurs, well, so be it. At least they will not be able to say that no one ever told them what is happening to law-abiding registrants in our state.
If you are unable to list the legislators to whom you will be sending the timeline or do not want to list them, that is okay – just please send the timeline to as many legislators as you can, whether it be one legislator or many.
Use the links below for a list of Florida legislators and their contact information, or request a copy of the list from your FAC County Coordinator:
Click here for the 40 FL Senators
Click here for the 120 FL House Representatives
For those people who are interested in targeting specific committees, they can be found at:
https://www.flsenate.gov/committees
https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/sections/committees/committees.aspx
I agree with these efforts. But it makes me bear in mind that most people aggressively feel that everyone on the registry, regardless of anything, deserve everything they are getting and more. There is no punishment too harsh that they would see as unreasonable or a tax burden. And there are even then too many of them that would just as soon see all of us executed. Cruelly.
I see these sentiments expressed repeatedly on social media, and I hear people say it in person when they talk about the subject amongst themselves.
Living with that burden of hatred hanging above me every day is stressful and depressing. I don’t think society is going to change on this anytime soon. My hope is that future generations will just become more liberal on sexual issues and not pillory each other and go irrationally overboard like they have begun to do in the past few decades.
Not to say we shouldn’t try, because every little victory we gain is helpful. But the zeitgeist we are fighting is an unbelievable juggernaut right now.
More liberal on sexual issues? Seriously? We have that problem already. And have since the 1960’s (thanks, hippies!).
People being “more liberal” doesn’t take away from certain crimes that we have committed. But the registry has gotten everyone in a tizzy. Prior to the registry, people didn’t have sex offenses as a topic to talk about at random over a latte like they do now. They let the law/courts take their course of action and that was the end of it. When the person got released, there was none of this “We don’t want him in OUR neighborhood” crap.
What we need to have happen is bible thumpers and U.S. Constitution thumpers learn to live by the documents they love to thump on about. Otherwise, do away with both. Unless they’re willing to put every person from the Old Testament on the SOR, including the “god” that endorsed such actions.
Maestro,
These Bible Thumpers played a huge role in the sexually oppressive society we have become. The evangelicals worked with feminist groups during the sexual counterrevolution of the 1970s. It was an equally parasitic relationship in which each side obtained a benefit from scaring folks on free sexuality.
Whether you want to believe it or not, it was the liberal Warren Courts that gave defendants in criminal cases at least some legal representation and some semblance of rights. It was in the Bill of Rights but it took centuries to make the govetrnment carry out these rights. And it was the liberal jusices that wrote the dissenting opinion in Smith v Doe.
The conservatives have been masters of pushing the “tough on crime” agenda, including registry laws. So yes, politics matters. I NEVER, EVER vote for a staunch conservative.
Derek
As you Know, One of the ‘Senators’, listed above, if emailed, may cause harm!
Perhaps, that person, should be removed from the aforementioned listing, as, you may have a Goon Squad at your Door, demanding why you emailed that person….
FACTS ARE FACTS AND TRUTHS ARE TRUTHS!
I agree with you, but regardless of how a legislator feels, they know it is unconstitutional to continue punishment after a sentence has been served.
We need some help with the representatives. If you are able to do so, please send the timeline to at least one representative in Tallahassee.
Thank you.
Legislators impose registries because they believe registries are popular.
When a constituent takes the trouble to send them a letter taking a position, that legislator knows that there are 100 more in their district that share that position even if they’re not writing letters of their own.
Once the legislator begins to realize that registry laws are not as popular as they had assumed, that there in fact is an anti-registry constituency, then they become more open to reforms.
Please send a copy of one timeline to one Florida legislator.
I think you have been hacked, nothing on the site is working. Cant send you emails and the links you have for Floridaactioncommittee says page not found
Works fine for me.
Working for me.
Albritton, Passidomo, and Rodriques have an FAC member sending the timeline to them.
Check your website. Have tried 3 different ways to send in a story and every route gives me this message all day today. Only way I can get through is here but it doesn’t allow links
There was an error trying to send your message. Please try again later.
We have two FAC members sending the timeline to:
Senator Keith Perry
Senator Tom A. Wright
Senator Dennis Baxley
Senator Randolph Bracy
Senator George B. Gainer
Senator Jason W. B. Pizzo
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez
Senator Victor M. Torres, Jr.
Senator Ileana Garcia
Senator Lauren Book
Senator Jason Brodeur
Senator Gayle Harrell
Senator Darryl Ervin Rouson
Senator Jeff Brandes
Senator Danny Burgess
Senator Ed Hooper
Senator Bobby Powell
Senator Annette Taddeo
I have to commend FAC. Yes if I was living in Florida I would voice also but I’m satisfied in the ‘Blue ridge area. I look at all or much of this registry in a who’s trying who’s spirit. Even talking to the detective I said I made a decision… even he was a bit confused so he had to think of something else to charge me with.
Could people in biblical times reason with the Egyptians? Are we all carnal by nature? Is truth stranger than fiction or who is running red lights in a no passing zone. Traffic is pretty bad in all areas but this registry traffic is a downfall for even man made justice in many ways.
Letters are good and yes I have written many to even the Governor of Virginia in my state and it is still your privilidge and vested rights.
I hope they think that more people feel like we do, but I have the suspicion that they think that it’s just the sex offenders themselves writing in and that the actual public feels differently.
I’d appreciate it if you notified us of more details about this Senator and the what retaliation people have experienced?
On a related subject, I’m a bit surprised that FAC is not leaning hard into getting people to write/call/email the U.S. Attorney General. ACSOL is pushing to swamp the DOJ with opposition to the proposed SORNA rules that are literally on the way to Merrick Garland’s desk for signature. These will affect all registrants in the country.
Veritas.
We reposted ACSOL’s letter in order to garner support for the effort. There’s no reason to reformat something that was already so well put together.
FAC did give a detailed post on Oct. 28 on how to contact the U.S. Attorney General. I am currently working on my own letter to mail through email and regular mail along with calling the number given by ACSOL. I hope you and others are doing the same.
We also need to be mailing Florida legislators the FAC timeline on the history of passing laws in Florida that affect anyone forced to register.
FAC board members, who are UNPAID volunteers, cannot do everything. Most people are willing to sit back and be satisfied with the status quo. If all registrants, friends, and family members in the state of Florida would ever unite and show their strength in numbers, we would get more done.
I hope you and others are also sending out the timeline with a letter of explanation to our legislators.
Sorry if I misrepresented your efforts. I appreciate the work that you FAC volunteers do. I for one am calling, writing and emailing. I hope this little exchange reminds everyone that each voice counts.
Thank you, Ed C, for what you are doing to help our cause.
Hi guys, I got my letters and timelines done for Hendry, Glades and Lee (while I was at it). Let me know if you need other Counties done.
We have a member who has sent the timeline to: Representatives Botana, Giallombardo, Melo, Persons-Mulicka, Roach, and Tuck.