This Just In
I only had a flash of the news – but what a relief it was. The Florida State Legislature has come to its senses. The state, home to the infamous Pulse Nightclub attack in 2016 and the Parkland High School shooting in 2018, finally is passing some restrictive weapon legislation. The Legislature overcame their concern for the Bill of Rights, and are taking action.
Anyone using a weapon (except professionals) must register that weapon with State authorities. Having possession without registration can result in fines, levied daily. Nothing about the proposed law would violate the Bill of Rights about owning the weapon, just how it is used.
I just want to say, personally, how pleased I am to see the “Free State of Florida” begin to come to grips with their obsession with guns and the Second Amendment. Finally the work of the Parkland shooting “Kids” (now in their mid-twenties) has paid off. Children, minorities, LGBTQ folks and all citizens in Florida will be safer for the action. Hopefully other states, already mimicking the dreadful DeSantis “Don’t Say Gay” law, will follow this Florida advance as well.
Whoops
Wait – they aren’t talking about the Second Amendment. It’s the FIRST Amendment, the one that says, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech or of the press…”. And the weapon is…a blog? A blog like the one you’re reading right now, so dangerous, that the “Free State” deems it necessary to register and regulate them. But ONLY if the “weapon”, the blog, is “pointed” at Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida Attorney General, or other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature?
Are you kidding? The thin skinned, overweight, white overlords of the “Free State” are so afraid of criticism, that they are seeking protection from – blogs? (Don’t believe me – here’s the link to the SR 1316 text – check-out lines 138 thru 253).
Sticks and Stones
The “gentlemen” of the Florida State Legislature, so enamored with the Second Amendment “…right to bear arms shall not be infringed” (ignoring the whole “well-regulated militia” part) are willing to directly regulate freedom of speech and the press. It’s because bloggers said nasty things about the Florida leadership, like DeSantis, even insulting them by calling them overweight and thin-skinned. Of course, that’s way beyond what elected government officials should have to put up with. Constitutional protections be damned, in the “free state” those “leaders” need protection. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words…” obviously require regulation. Especially when they are words from “private” individuals. Professionals in the media are exempt from the proposed law.
I fashion myself as an “essayist”, even if Florida Senate Bill 1316 would define me as a blogger. As my essays appear on a website, “Our America”, it fits the definition of a “blog” needing regulation. Especially this particular “blog”. All I need now is to earn some money doing it. Right now “Our America” is free to read, without advertising. It’s just a place where I can express my views, tell stories, and try to continue my life-long career of “education”.
Blogger Police
Because, if Senate Bill 1316 were to become law, I desperately would like the “Free State” to reach out to Ohio and sue me for violating their terms. I wonder if they’d send Florida State Troopers to whisk me away to Tallahassee in the middle of the night. I know they have a private airline already under contract (to move migrants to big Northern cities). I’m pretty sure that any Federal Court, even Donald Trump’s handpicked judge in Fort Pierce, wouldn’t let this stand.
Or maybe Governor DeSantis will create a “blogger police” like he created the “election police”. They can wear bullet proof vests with FBP emblazoned on the back (Florida Blogger Police). I don’t know if Kevlar will stop words… Instead of carrying guns, they could have really big Number 2 Pencils with giant erasers on the top.
I guess I need to put a “donate” button on the bottom of this essay. That way I can be “compensated” and meet the full definition of the bill. And it’s even scarier, because it’s all true.
