Governor Desantes has been busy in Florida passing laws and putting policies in place to enforce religious right-wing political and social beliefs which tear down constitutional rights of Florida's residents. He has put in place these laws and policies by casting them as his response to "woke" culture wars, using aggressive autocratic tactics, and bullying media / citizens who question his motives.
Florida's Governor Desantes Administration General Counsel definition of wokeism in court: "a view that there are systematic injustices in American society and the need to have polices that address [them]." Governor Desantes has invested a lot of time and effort working on political right- wing "woke" issues. Governor Desantes' legislative and governance initiatives identified to address "woke" issues in Florida are listed below:
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- Banning abortion in Florida:
- Florida's Anti-Abortion Law: The law bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
- Transgender rights:
- Florida's "Parental Rights in Education Act" aka the "Don't Say Gay" bill: The Act is a sweeping general law which applies to under graduate education (pre- Kindergarten through 12th Grade) which calls for "age-appropriate" teaching of gender identity and sexuality which enables parents to sue teachers for mentioning "same sex marriage" and/or LGBTQ issues in the classroom.
- Restricting Free Speech in Florida:
- Florida's "Anti Riot Law": The law criminalizes free speech in Florida. Courts in Florida have ruled that the law violates the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.
- Florida's "Stop Social Media Censorship Act": The law has been blocked in a Florida court for violating the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution "Free Speech" provisions. A Florida Judge criticized the law for being so poorly written that it can't be enforced
- Restricting pre-Kindergarten through 12 Grade Education in Florida:
- Florida's "Parental Rights in Education Act" aka the "Don't Say Gay" bill: The Act is a sweeping general law which applies to under graduate education (pre- Kindergarten through 12th Grade) which calls for "age-appropriate" teaching of gender identity and sexuality which enables parents to sue teachers for mentioning "same sex marriage" and/or LGBTQ issues in the classroom.
- Florida's "Stop W.O.K.E. Act": The law limits ways concepts related to systemic racism and sex discrimination can be discussed in schools. This Act has Florida's Department of Education reviewing books used in Florida's public schools to teach critical thinking skills to undergraduate students. Books are reviewed to determine if they violate the law based on having "indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism". These reviews are performed by Florida's Department of Education and target the books to teach elementary school students. This Act is essentially a "Book Banning" law. Governor Desantes has stated that the law enforces "parental rights" and "transparency". The Act requires that only approved books will be included in any school classroom or library, and that approval must come from a media specialist certified by the Florida Department of Education. The law allows Florida residents to challenge books they don't like and have them removed. The law provides for removal of books based on an individual Florida resident's religious beliefs.
- Restricting voting rights in Florida:
- Florida's Election Crime and Security Office: Ex-felons were arrested in Florida for voting even though they were cleared to vote by the state before before they voted. A number of these cases have been dismissed in court. The purpose of these actions is to instill fear in "non-white" voters in Florida and prevent them from voting.
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Isn’t nice to see the concepts in George Orwell’s book “1984” coming to fruition?