Westlake, FL, expands residency restriction
Tuesday, July 16, 2024, the Westlake City Council approved an ordinance that will expand the state’s 1,000-foot residency restriction to 2,500 feet.
The vice mayor requested a postponement of the vote until their regular August meeting to give the council and attorney time to study the ordinance further.
One council member acknowledged that all Westlake officials had received numerous phone calls and emails opposing the ordinance. The three members voted unanimously to approve the ordinance, ignoring the vice mayor’s recommendation.
The council members did listen to the many people who shared past court decisions that found it was not constitutional to keep Persons Forced to Register from entering libraries. Westlake did strike the words public libraries from the ordinance.
This decision in Westlake might not be a “done deal.” Stay tuned for possible future information.
The meeting can be viewed here.
I’m not suprised. Give people the smallest amount of authority and you’ll see it abused eventually. People today just don’t seem to care about anyone but themselves. You see it everywhere. It’s a symptom of lost mortality in our current society.
I wish it weren’t that way. But we see it over and over. Its not just the registry either. This happens In so many areas of our society. This is just bad public policy. We know these restrictions just hurt the ones who have to deal with. Thats IMO 1000% there intention. I don’t think 99% of the people who enacted these laws care at all about public safety and just wann be seen as re-electable.
That is where he got it wrong and tomorrow I will send him an email.
“And they’re definitely advocates for sexual offenders, and you know I hear them, I like, listen to what they have to say, but on the same token, I have my own purpose that I have to fulfill here. And that’s the safety of our community,” said Werner.
I advocate for the safety of children. All children. I advocate for individuals and their families for people who have committed an offense and have paid their “dues” if you will. I advocate for civil rights. For the right to put a roof over your head. If someone is sexually offending, I am not advocating for them. His term is for someone who is currently involved in a bad behavior.
I will send a polite email and copy the council. Thank you to those who reached out. Don’t ever give up trying.
Thank you for sending a follow-up email, Mp.
So, do people already living in a location have to move? If so, I think the World has gone to a pile of donkey dung. As a matter of fact, the enactment of the ordinance is also a pile of something.
Cherokee its more than donkey dung. This nation is corrupt. Was the saying on the dollar bill in man we trust or in God we trust.Maybe it was the Supreme court…. These restrictions are much about men abusing their power in many ways. Talk about vain government.
No, the two PFR’s already living there will be grandfathered in.
We’re an easy target because of the toxic tribalism and virtue signaling that has gripped our society. The invention of the smartphone and social media basically sealed our fate.
It because an echo chamber for myths, lies and hate.
You are definitely insightful about that.
I’ve been to these council meetings and it’s like once this subject is brought up, the air in the room gets sucked out immediately and the body language of the council members goes from gregarious and animated, to reserved and wooden. It’s as though they just found out one their pets got run over by a car.
This kind of animus and ignorance can never be swayed by facts, logic or evidence. These are the same types that know wrestling is fake, but they continue watching just for the entertainment value. They honestly feel as though we’re the bad guys and they’re the “good guys” on the “winning team” that is protecting society.
They’re role-playing some “intervention” fantasy while caring out their savior complex fetishisms.
And I’ve found that, when I’m talking to someone who’s naive about the unfairness and ineffectiveness of the registry, one on one, I often sense some new perspective and empathy from that person. However, within a similar group atmosphere, their reactions often become melodramatic (like an intense soap opera) and frustrated/angry, as if they don’t want to appear sympathetic, or just creepy, in any way in front of the others. And they seem to feed off of each other’s negative, ill-informed, and strictly binary-thinking opinions, becoming even more righteous about them. It becomes a negative synergy that reinforces their ignorance. The news media is part of that synergy, too. And the terse, virtual, and often emotional structure of social media exchange doesn’t help to expose the realities about the registry either.
Exactly. Great observation. The court room is where the victory lies. Peoples precious time, money and energy are being exhausted and evaporated in these never ending mini battles. We are few in number. We can’t take on how society sees it, it’s un-winnable. We just need a a panel of judges to see these grievances and set the tone for what society needs to follow.
Michael is right..we have to put our money where our mouth is (I know its difficult). The courts is the only solution. Unless one is on the registry or a friend/family memeber, nobody will stand up to defend us. Even if we don’t win, the thought of upcoming legal expenses will hopefully make them rethink these feel good, useless laws. The Gainesville situation is a great example.
I have a question. Any help is appreciated. My FDLE flyer specifically states I have “No Residency Restrictions.” I live in a municipality that has a 2,500 ft restriction, but LE has never made an issue of it. Can anyone explain?
The exercise in stupdity and virtue signalling of this vote is that the city, which is tiny in size, is surrounded on all 4 sides by a county with a 1,000 foot restriction. This means there will be PFR’s living outside the city limits but less than 2500 feet from a restricted area and the city can do nothing about it. There authority ends at the city limit. A glance at the FDLE SORNA map clearly shows this to be the case for a large number of PFR’s in the area.