Federal Judge Smacks Down Florida’s Anti-Woke Law

A federal judge in Florida has ruled that the state’s ban on ex-gay therapy violates the First Amendment. The law was created by a Christian lawmaker to stop people from using therapy to change their sexual orientation, and it even made it illegal to tell minors that sexual orientation could be changed.

This controversial law had been passed unanimously by the Florida House of Representatives and approved on a 23-7 vote by state senators; only one Republican voted against it, but five Democrats voted in favor of the ban on ex-gay therapy, which makes it all the more surprising that the legislation was blocked in court. But the U.S.

THE RULING

In late October of last year, a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale ruled that the 2013 anti-homeless law is unconstitutional. The law prohibits sitting or lying on any public sidewalk in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale for more than two hours at a time.

The American Civil Liberties Union brought a suit against the city of Hollywood after several homeless men were issued warnings for violating the statute. One plaintiff alleged he was denied service from one area business because he was blocking their entranceway.

DEFINING ANTI-WOKE LAW

A few weeks ago, a federal judge in Orlando, Fla., struck down the state’s 2017 anti-woke law. This is how the court decision put it: Plaintiffs were allegedly targeted for their speech and expression for over four months. This arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of (Florida Statute) 847.0135(3)(b) violated Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights by chilling free speech in violation of the Supreme Court precedent, McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission 514 U.S. 334 (1995).

DEFENDING FLORIDA’S ANTI-WOKE LAW

When Rick Scott signed the anti-woking law into place, it was with good intentions. The law does not prohibit people from being woken up if necessary for emergencies like natural disasters or family violence incidents. However, on Monday the federal judge in Tampa, Florida granted a temporary injunction against the law. There will be a full hearing on November 15th.

Federal Judge James D. Whittemore granted a temporary injunction against another one of Scott’s anti-woking laws saying, it was unfair to ban all people from being woken up, including those who had no desire to be woken up by political campaigns at all. Many believe that Scott signed anti-woking law HB553 to get reelected in a state where over 27% of people are woke, including 37% in Miami.

The law was viewed as a solution to political candidates who were waking up voters and then hanging up on them, leaving them tired and frustrated.

However, many opponents believe that it goes too far by banning not only politicians but all citizens from waking anyone up before 9:00 A.M., even in cases of natural disasters or family violence incidents. The lawsuit, brought forth by voters in Tallahassee, accused Scott of trying to suppress their 1st Amendment rights for political gain.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US

It seems that everyone is finally catching on to the joke. In March, a federal judge slapped down Florida’s anti-woke law that seeks to stop the spreading of false information. This comes after Congress rolled back Federal Communications Commission restrictions on ISPs sharing personal data with third parties.

ISPs can sell your browsing history and location data for as much as $10 per month. Lucky for you, we offer a free, easy way to protect your privacy online. Just click the Hola Unblocker button in your browser and change your DNS from what it is now to ours or any other one you prefer (preferably OpenDNS). That way when you browse online, not only do you get your privacy back but also higher speeds!

While we know you care about your privacy, did you know that ISPs can and do share your browsing history and location data with third parties?

This information is often used to create personalized ads which can sometimes be quite intrusive. To protect your privacy, we recommend that you use a VPN service like Hola Unblocker, so that every time you browse online; not only are you getting faster speeds (if using our free VPN service) but also better protection of your online privacy.

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