Remembering Injustice while Celebrating our Liberty
Weekly Update 2017-07-04
Dear Members and Advocates,
Happy July 4th!!!
Every year, on this calendar day, we commemorate freedom from oppression. On July 4, 1776, the 13 colonies declared their independence from Great Britain, who had been taxing and subjecting the colonists to unjust treatment decades. Since the Intolerable Acts of 1744, the British used cruelty and propaganda against the colonists. It wasn’t until the First Continental Congress in September 1774, where representatives from the colonies got together and decided they have had enough. This lead to a series of events that led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of our nation, under the principle of freedom. …Or so we thought.
There are qualities of this country that are great. Unfortunately, there are things about it that are quite terrible too. If you are reading this weekly update, you know all too well about the unfair and inhumane treatment of a segment of our population that has done wrong (maybe very wrong, maybe not so wrong), but because of a label that has been branded on them, it’s impossible to return to a productive life. At least one with any meaning or dignity. The prison industry has become the modern-day tea tax. The sex offender registry has become the modern-day pillory.
The intent of this week’s update is not to provide a history level or get anyone down. It’s to point out that for decades now, our government has imposed senseless and severely punitive restrictions on this class, using cruelty and propaganda to pass laws in the name of public safety, when, in fact, they have been repeatedly proven to NOT make the public any safer. Just like we celebrate freedom on July 4th, one day, registered individuals and their loved ones, will also rise from the oppression and commemorate the day the registry was abolished.
For that day to come, we need to come together and fight. We need to coordinate with advocates from other states and form our own “Continental Congress”! We need to create our own revolution! And we need to do it NOW!
There are many battles along the way, but the good news is that we are seeing victories. Victories in the name of constitutional rights! Victories in the name of public safety! Cases such as Doe v. Snyder (6th Circuit, declared the registry punishment) and Packingham v. North Carolina (SCOTUS, State cannot block a registrant’s access to social media) are tremendous battle victories. Even our win in the 11th Circuit (residency restrictions) and injunction in the Internet Identifier challenge (I know… they passed a new law to circumvent the injunction, but rest assured the battle is not over) is a reminder that this fight is a series of battles, but we are getting somewhere!
We can only get there faster with your help! Please consider commemorating this Independence Day by making a commitment to help fight the battle. You can do this by volunteering, by organizing a speaking engagement for us at a public venue or by making a contribution to FAC (https://floridaactioncommittee.org/donations/) or another organization that fights for the rights of registrants. If you do one thing this holiday; commit to helping with this fight so that we may all enjoy a future Independence Day in true freedom!
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
P.S. Many of you have inquired about the changes to the internet identifier requirements, how this impacts our injunction and what is being done. Please rest assured that there are very capable attorneys on top of this. We cannot jeopardize anything by divulging strategy, so while we are not ready (or even fully briefed) to discuss this topic on the forthcoming member call, we ask everyone to hang in there and know that it is being worked on and that we hope to have an update for everyone soon.
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
Woman’s License Mistakenly Marked ‘Sexual Predator’
A Florida woman took her children to Disney World for a fun weekend, but was denied service at the hotel. When she asked why she was not allowed to stay there, she was shocked by the response. Now, the mother is taking legal action. Tammy Lemasters was denied service…
Florida Supreme Court: Can’t search cellphone without a warrant.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Police need a warrant to search a cellphone – even if it is incident to an arrest. In the case of Carpenter v. Florida, a defendant was arrested when he traveled to meet who he thought was a minor (it was, of course, a…
After years of panicked and excessively punitive lawmaking against sex offenders, cooler heads are beginning to prevail. The U.S. Supreme Court, for example, last week struck down a North Carolina law that effectively banned registered sex offenders from using any…
Using ethics loophole, Sen. Lauren Book votes to give her nonprofit $1.5 million
Broward State Sen. Lauren Book voted “yes” last month to approve a state appropriations bill that included $1.5 million for Lauren’s Kids, the nonprofit she founded and leads as its $135,000-a-year chief executive officer. A gaping loophole in Florida Senate ethics…