Note: This is the Part VIII of MY STUPID STATE, where I document what happens when a state full of Democrats elect a veto-proof right-wing legislature along with a teabag CRIMINAL governor to lead us. (Once again, yes--an actual bona-fide criminal who literally stole from seniors, who subsequently elected him.) This is my documentation of my beloved but idiotic state of Florida's slow descent into chaos.
You read the title right. I am not exaggerating in the least. Just more wingnuttery from my state legislature. This time from new freshman teabagger Sen. Jim Norman.
Jim Norman of FL District 12 is one of those newbies pushed by FL teabaggers in the last election. Like many of his fellow "FLeabaggers", he has a history of ethics problems. But in a state where a criminal can be elected governor, a state senator with a mountain of ethics complaints and an FBI probe gets a chairmanship.
And just like the other new FLeabag legislators, like Jason "Fine Doctors $5 Million for Asking Mental Patients Anything about Guns" Brodeur, Jim Norman is making a name for himself.
Sen. Norman introduced SB 1246 last Friday, which would make it a 1st degree felony to photgraph any part of a farm (even from public property) without written permission of the farm owner first!
Lest you think I am prone to hyperbole, read the text of the bill yourself.
WHY is he doing this? Is he insane? No, well, yes... actually the voters here are... but that's another post.
The intent of this stupid bill is to prevent someone from an animal rights groups to dress up like a farm worker and secretly film farmers torturing or abusing farm animals on private property. Now, this is already illegal here, mind you. The infiltration, that is: not the farm animal abuse. Animal rights here are looked down upon almost as much as worker rights. (When voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2002 to stop the practice of putting pregnant pigs in ultra-confining cages, the legislature went ballistic--long story short, the requirements for citizen intiatives now demand a super-majority.)
Yet, somehow, these videos are still getting made. So logically, the next step is to make a law to arrest anyone with a wide angle lens that snaps a picture that might happen to include an open pasture.
Seriously.
Last January, I took a picture of a church near Geneva. There is a cow behind a fence in the background. If this bill becomes law, I can look forward to being charged with a first degree felony on par with murderers and bank robbers.
I guess someone forgot to tell these FLeabaggers that the Constitution they profess to love includes a first amendment as well.
March 8--It's Our Turn To Protest. AwaketheState.
Updated by SemDem at Mon Feb 28, 2011, 12:22:30 PM
For my friends at DKos FL, fellow suffering Floridians, and all of you outsiders enjoying the festival of ignorance that is our state government--Thank You. Your witty comments help alleviate some of the pain. Getting on the Rec list several times in just two months I guess I really need to give the kudos to our crooked goober and his henchmen in the legislature--you have been a complete disaster for this state... but your antics have been a boon to my writing career. With 2 months down and 46 months left, I unfortunately will have no short supply of material. :( :)