Florida’s ‘hostile’ laws? Five laws NAACP listed in travel advisory. – St. Augustine Record

DeSantis signs LGBTQ+ bills for kids into law

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills Wednesday that ban gender-affirming care for minors, target drag shows, restrict discussion of personal pronouns in schools and force people to use certain bathrooms. DeSantis has made anti-LGBTQ+ legislation a large part of his agenda as he prepares to seek the Republican presidential nomination. (May 18)

AP

The NAACP issued a historic travel advisory for Florida over the weekend, listing five laws that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed as policies that were undemocratic and "hostile to Black Americans."

The civil rights group said that Florida has engaged in an all-out attack on Black Americans, accurate Black history, voting rights, members of the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, womens reproductive rights, and free speech, while simultaneously embracing a culture of fear, bullying, and intimidation by public officials, in the released advisory.

It added that these attacks include criminalizing protests, restricting the ability of educators to teach African-American history and engaging in a war against diversity and inclusion.

NAACP Florida travel advisory: NAACP posts Florida travel warning, warns DeSantis' policies 'hostile to Black Americans'

DEI in Florida: DeSantis' new law defunds DEI programs in Florida state universities. What does it mean?

What you need to know: NAACP says Florida is 'openly hostile' toward African Americans

Jeremy Redfern, the governor's press secretary, responded to the announcement by saying, "This is a stunt."

Here's a deep dive at the five laws the NAACP referenced in its announcement.

DeSantis signed the Combatting Violence, Disorder and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act into law in 2021, which created new criminal offenses and increased penalties for those who target law enforcement and participate in violent or disorderly assemblies.

This law was ruledunconstitutionalin a 90-page decision by U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee.

Whats in Combatting Violence, Disorder and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act:

New Criminal Offenses to Combat Rioting, Looting and Violence

Who's benefited, who's targeted? Ron DeSantis Florida power play fueling a presidential run

Increased Penalties

Citizen and Taxpayer Protection Measures

Florida immigration law: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs sweeping immigration bill SB 1718 into law. Five takeaways:

What opponents said:

Before the law was ruled unconstitutional, opponents said that the law was unclear and overly vague. For instance, the law wasnt clear on whether a person needed to be participating in a violent act or within the vicinity while protesting to be charged.

This led to warnings that the law could be broadly interpreted by law enforcement. And there was ambiguity surrounding the laws definition of riot, leading to many saying that just participating in a peaceful protest could lead to severe criminal charges.

DeSantis signed HB 7 into law in 2022, and was meant to give businesses, employees, children and families tools to stand up against discrimination and woke indoctrination.

The bill included provisions to prevent discriminatory instruction in the workplace and public schools and defines individual freedoms based on the fundamental truth that all individuals are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, and was meant to take on corporate wokeness and Critical Race Theory in schools in one law.

What does 'woke' mean? What does 'woke' mean and why does Florida Governor Ron DeSantis want to stop it?

Whats in HB 7:

Medical conscience bill: DeSantis signs controversial medical conscience bill, touts Florida as 'Prescribe Freedom' state

What opponents say:

Heres what the ACLU says about the law:

DeSantis signed HB 543 into law in April. The new law strengthened Floridas Second Amendment rights by allowing Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a government-issued permit. It will go into effect on July 1.

Whats in HB 543:

HB 543 is a short bill that does exactly what it says: Allows Florida residents to carry concealed weapons without a government-issued permit.

To carry a concealed weapon or a concealed firearm without a license, the person must still be eligible for a Florida Concealed Weapon or Firearm License based on the outlined criteria in Section 790.06, however, the person is no longer required to complete training or pay a licensing fee.

Here are the criteria highlights:

Find the full listhere.

Florida anti-LGBTQ laws: Four new Florida laws target transgender, broader LGBTQ community. Here's what they do

In May, DeSantis signed HB 266, which prohibits institutions from spending federal or state dollars on discriminatory initiatives like diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

The bill prohibits programs, majors, minors, curriculum and general education core courses that violate Florida law regarding prohibited discrimination or that are based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political and economic inequities.

Whats in SB 266:

What opponents say:

Disney pulls plug on Florida: Yes, Disney pulled plug on $1 billion Florida project but not its future plans. What to know.

SB 7066 was signed into law in 2019 and addressed Amendment 4, which Florida voters passed in 2018, that restored voting rights for some convicted felons. The new law enumerated a uniform list of crimes that fall into the excluded categories and confirmed that Amendment 4 did not apply to a felon who had failed to complete all terms of their sentence.

This law required that people with past convictions must pay all of their outstanding legal fees, costs, fines and restitution before they could regain their right to vote, but U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle found that these requirements violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by discriminating based on wealth.

Read the original post:

Florida's 'hostile' laws? Five laws NAACP listed in travel advisory. - St. Augustine Record