A similar law was thrown out last year….
One doesn’t expect this law to stand either….
(CNN)Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that makes it illegal to protest or picket outside a person’s home and gives police the authority to arrest violators who don’t disperse after a warning.
“Sending unruly mobs to private residences, like we have seen with the angry crowds in front of the homes of Supreme Court justices, is inappropriate,” DeSantis said in a statement. “This bill will provide protection to those living in residential communities, and I am glad to sign it into law.”
In his statement, DeSantis was referencing protests earlier this month outside the Washington, DC-area homes of US Supreme Court justices ahead of a highly anticipated ruling on an abortion-related case. Republicans have criticized the demonstrations as an attempt to bully the court to uphold Roe v. Wade after a leaked draft ruling suggested the court was poised to overturn the landmark decision.
However, the bill that DeSantis signed was unrelated to the recent controversy, as it passed the state legislature in early March. The bill had bipartisan support in the Florida Senate, where it advanced to DeSantis’ desk after a 28-3 vote….
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In a statement, Francesca Menes, co-founder of the social justice organization The Black Collective, said the bill signed by DeSantis “builds on the unconstitutional foundations of the anti-protest bill last year and only reaffirms our will to make sure our voices are heard in order to create a brighter future for the people of our state.”
DeSantis last year championed what he called an “anti-riot” law in response to civil unrest after Floyd’s murder. The law could allow police to arrest anyone participating in a protest that turns violent. A judge halted enforcement of the law, calling it “vague and overbroad” and an unconstitutional infringement on the First Amendment….