Recent editorials from Florida newspapers:
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Nov. 11
Miami Herald on the expansion of Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law:
Gov. Ron DeSantis is cracking down on a “lawlessness” problem that doesn’t exist in the Sunshine State.
The Miami Herald reported Tuesday that the governor has drafted “anti-mob” legislation that would expand Florida’s Stand Your Ground law to allow armed citizens to shoot looters or anyone engaged in “criminal mischief.”
This gives vigilantes, hotheads and the simply mistaken too much leeway to open fire.
Critics say this draft bill is in response to police-brutality protests that erupted in Florida, and the United States, this summer.
But the fact is that Florida does not need to expand this already-controversial and lethal law.
Demonstrations in South Florida were nothing compared to those in other major cities, though Republican leaders tried mightily to link them. Looters did hit Bayside Marketplace in downtown Miami one night. They should be arrested and tried.
THE RIGHT TO SHOOT
However, there certainly was no widespread lawlessness in South Florida or the rest of the state, for that matter. But the governor continues to push the spin that cities will be overtaken by hoodlums who want to defund the police. The governor’s legislation is a shot across the bow of Black Lives Matter and other social-justice demonstrators.
He is telling them: Anyone has the right to shoot you, even kill you, if they think you’re misbehaving. DeSantis is gunning to give anyone the right to shoot, whether they are personally threatened or not. Is that really the rep he wants for Florida?
We are not by any means defending looters, but we’re talking property crimes here, not threats to life and limb. We sense the governor has gone into campaign mode with this hard-line and, possibly, deadly tactic. State legislators should reject it outright, rather than enable the governor.
The draft legislation expands DeSantis’ pledge in September to crack down on “violent and disorderly assemblies” following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
A BAD IDEA
DeSantis’ proposal would enhance criminal penalties for people involved in “violent or disorderly assemblies,” make it a third-degree felony to block traffic during a protest, offer immunity to drivers who claim to have unintentionally killed or injured protesters who block traffic, and withhold state funds from local governments that cut law enforcement budgets, the Herald reported.
Former Miami-Dade prosecutor Aubrey Webb told the Herald the proposed expansion of the state’s Stand Your Ground law is a bad idea.
“It dangerously gives armed private citizens power to kill as they subjectively determine what constitutes ‘criminal mischief’ that interferes with a business,” Webb said. “Someone graffitiing ‘Black Lives Matter’ on a wall? Urinating behind a dumpster? Blocking an entrance?” Exactly.
For now, the governor’s office has sent the draft bill to the House Judiciary Committee. As of Tuesday, the proposal remained a draft. No bills have been filed in either the House or Senate. The Legislature convenes March 2. Committees begin meeting in January.
This is one more disturbing instance in which the governor is content to play with Floridians’ lives. His miserable management of the coronavirus pandemic, it seems, wasn’t a fluke. His push to let killers off the hook needs to be shot down, immediately.
Online: https://www.news-journalonline.com
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Nov. 11
The Daytona Beach News-Journal on observing Veteran’s Day:
Care for veterans is not a partisan issue. Republicans and Democrats alike recognize the need to honor the brave heroes who fought and returned to take their places as community leaders and entrepreneurs. And hearts, blue and red alike, go out to the wounded warriors defined by their emotional and mental scars.
Many of this area’s elected officials – from U.S. Rep. Brian Mast to the Legislature, to city and county officials – have military service records, as do prominent members of the business and academic community. But there are also so many homeless veterans in the area that Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties all have programs devoted to serving their needs.
We can all agree that veterans deserve healing and help, especially when that assistance spreads its benefits to the communities where veterans live. Job assistance programs, home buying assistance and education aid all offer benefits that spill over to the areas where veterans live and work.
In recent years, many veterans’ celebrations have focused on the last of the World War II-era generation, a group whose numbers are rapidly dwindling. But next to the 325,000 living WWII veterans stand more than 1 million of the Korean War era, nearly 6.3 million of the Vietnam era and 8 million who served – or are still serving – inside the 30-year period the Department of Defense classifies as the Gulf War era.
It is a vast and diverse group. In Florida, more than half the state’s 1.5 million veterans are over the age of 65. But the state also is home to 173,495 veterans under the age of 40, and they have distinctly different needs, including increased demand for addiction and mental-health treatment.
A LONG WAY TO GO
They are owed more than the nation can repay. But the United States still has a long way to go in caring for veterans. Many still lack access to the quality health care they were promised, though Volusia County expects a new VA clinic to open in 2023, and St. Johns County will have new facilities as well. Across Florida, we need more facilities like Heroes’ Mile in DeLand, which offers veteran-centric treatment for substance abuse, post-traumatic stress syndrome and service-related physical injuries. Suicide rates are increasing dramatically – something Waltz, in a September address, tied to increased isolation mandated by the coronavirus.
Even before the pandemic struck, unemployment rates for returning veterans ran higher than national figures. Veterans are also more likely to be underemployed and working at low-wage jobs. State and federal officials should keep working together to improve veterans’ access to job training and opportunities.
When the U.S. helps military veterans, it can also seize a chance to heal itself. In a nation torn by partisan divide and the aftermath of a bitter election, U.S. Michael Waltz, along with U.S. Reps. Mast and Greg Steube, is a member of the bipartisan For Country Caucus, which brings together veterans in Congress to work across the aisle on issues that support the military and strengthen our society.
These are all big challenges, but today, on Veterans Day, there are things each of us can do to help bridge the chasms between us. If you know a veteran, call them and tell them their service is appreciated. If you see someone with a ball cap or patch indicating military service, say thank you. Throw up a Facebook post, or watch a streaming Veterans Day service online. These may seem like small gestures, but they matter. They remind us that we all – Republicans, Democrats and independents – owe a debt of gratitude to those who answered our nation’s call. It’s a step toward healing, and something we all need.
Online: https://www.sun-sentinel.com
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Nov. 10
Palm Beach Post on Florida voters approving a minimum wage increase:
Something significant happened on the way to the polls on Election Day in Florida: Voters decided that they are in favor of paying people a living wage.
As strange as it sounds, in the midst of a red wave that swept Florida - with President Donald Trump expanding his margin of victory in the state and Republicans picking up two congressional seats - voters also passed Amendment 2. The progressive proposal to gradually raise the minimum wage from $8.56 to $15 by 2026, was approved by 60.8% of voters - just above the 60% threshold needed for approval of constitutional amendments.
And as tempted as state Republican leaders will be to once again thwart the will of the voters, they should abstain.
Amendment 2 won more votes than either President-elect Joe Biden or Trump - with the candidates getting 5,283,367 and 5,658,219, respectively, and Amendment 2 garnering 2: 6,377,937 votes.
In other words, not only is raising the minimum wage more popular than either presidential candidate, but also that some Trump supporters most likely voted for something that’s perceived to be a Democratic priority.
This isn’t the first time that Florida voters have shown themselves to not be single-minded, that is, aligning 100% with the principles of a party they vote for. It happened in 2010, when Florida voters approved Fair Districts amendments to stop Republicans from drawing legislative districts to solidify their majorities. It happened in 2014, when 74% of voters approved Amendment 1 to set aside hundreds of millions of dollars a year for land and water conservation. And again in 2018, when 64% voted to restore the rights of most former felons.
Florida Republicans, largely because they just didn’t like that voters flatly rejected certain GOP principles, ignored, slow-walked and statutorily gutted those amendments to thwart voters’ intentions.
Again, this year, voters felt forced to do what state legislators have refused. Indeed, voters said that what Florida businesses pay low-wage workers simply isn’t enough. A livable wage for a household with two working adults and two children would be $16.14 per hour for Florida as a whole and $16.99 in Palm Beach County, according to the Living Wage Calculator by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Florida’s support for a mandated $15 minimum wage and for Trump might explain how the president’s appeal extends beyond the traditional GOP base. After all, he won in 2016 on a platform that balked at his party’s free-market philosophy when he railed against globalization. That platform was especially appealing to working-class voters who once voted Democratic and would likely benefit from Amendment 2.
“The coalition of Republicans has changed because of Trump, and those Trump Republicans are more sympathetic to working-class people, where historically the GOP has been known as the country club party,” Eric Hoppenbrouwer, executive director of Business Voice PAC (and who opposed Amendment 2), told Florida Today.
An analysis of 2016 voters by Lee Drutman, a senior fellow at the think tank New America, found that while supporters of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Trump were “very polarized on identity and moral issues,” their views on economic issues were “more of a mix” - many Trump supporters were conservative on social issues but more economically liberal.
That would help explain why minimum-wage increases have succeed in Arkansas and Missouri, both red states, and Oregon, a blue state. Raising the minimum wage might be one those ballot issues that unite both sides of the aisle like legalizing recreational marijuana, which just passed in deep-red South Dakota. In 2016, Florida voters approved the use of medical marijuana while also electing Trump.
What’s more, Florida’s successful Amendment 2 effort - pushed by attorney John Morgan - likely benefited from a small but noticeable rift in the business community. While chambers of commerce and small-business groups publicly railed against the proposed amendment’s “added costs,” many small-business owners responded with a collective “meh” and even voted for the gradual wage hike, according to The Post’s Alexandra Clough.
“Every time something like this happens, someone freaks out,” said Todd Herbst, owner of Big Time Restaurant Group. “But ultimately, you get there, and it ends up being OK.”
Rocco Mangel, owner of Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, agreed even if it boosts his restaurant costs or cuts into profits. “I think it’s a great thing,” Mangel said. “You have to take care of the living. I know what it’s like to live on $60 a week, and I’m not going to forget it.”
Neither should the Republican-led Florida Legislature.
Online: https://www.jacksonville.com
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