For Immediate Release: August 29, 2023 

     President Debbie Deland, Florida NOW

                                             president@flnow.org  

THE OUTCRY OF THE LOSS OF INNOCENT LIVES AND THE POLITICAL HYPOCRISY FOCUSED ATTENTION ON GOVERNOR DeSANTIS AND THE SYSTEMIC RACISM RAGING IN FLORIDA AND IN AMERICA 

More than 200 people gathered at a prayer vigil for the slain victims August 28th that Governor DeSantis decided to attend, where he was understandably booed due his racist record. DeSantis called the killer a ‘scumbag.’ When Reverend Jeffrey Rumlin spoke, he corrected DeSantis and said, “The [shooter] was not a scumbag. He was a racist.” DeSantis didn’t mention racism – an obvious politically driven omission.

FLORIDA NOW REACTS:

Florida NOW cannot tolerate the disconnect between blatant racism and the Florida laws that perpetuate the means for it. Rev. Rumlin said, “Call a spade a spade” and condemn the attack as a racist hate crime. Confront the truth and go in the direction that ameliorates racism.

Debbie Deland, FL National Organization for Women, said, “We will not tolerate gun laws and the perpetuation of racism hate that drives acts like these. Passing laws that attack diversity, equality, inclusion, and belonging programs at all levels of public education; revising curricula such as the AP Black History studies, banning books, and removing affirmative action are acts of denial and hate; changing voting laws to obstruct the voting rights of people of color; gerrymandering congressional districts to silence the voice of African Americans; and so many more dangerous statutes is not the way to address systemic racism. We don’t buy it, and others need to see the fascistic undercurrent that drives this governor. Governor DeSantis and this legislature’s racist white supremacist actions must be stopped. We must vote them out.”

CALL TO ACTION:

Keep informed. Discern rhetoric from the laws DeSantis signed. His rhetoric doesn’t tell the truth about the laws he has put in place. Recognize the ones that support racism, the ones that divide, the ones that create fear and hate in our state. Know which rights are being removed and which vulnerable populations are being crushed. Contact your representatives and voice your concerns, discuss issues with family, neighbors, friends. VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION and remember you need to re-enroll for the vote-by-mail option if you haven’t done so since January 2023.

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Florida NOW: is an intersectional grassroots organization that promotes feminist ideals, leads societal change, eliminates discrimination, and protects the equal rights of all women, girls, and non-binary people in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.

                               For Immediate Release: August 26, 2023 

     President Debbie Deland, Florida NOW                                                president@flnow.org

SUSPENDED A 2nd FLORIDA ELECTED STATE ATTORNEY: MONIQUE WORRELL, OF THE 9TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT (ORANGE-OSCEOLA COUNTIES) CLAIMING “DERELICTION OF DUTY” WHICH IS FALSE! 

EARLIER HE SUSPENDED ANDREW WARREN, OF THE 13TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY) FOR UNJUSTIFIED REASONS 

The Florida ACLU said, “Once again Governor DeSantis shows that he will do whatever he can in order to keep his power and control over the state, regardless of what the people want or how they voted. …Ousting elected officials because [DeSantis] disagrees with their leadership and installing hand-picked individuals to take over their job responsibilities is what happens in authoritarian regimes, not in a democracy.”

At the recent Republican Presidential Candidate Debate, DeSantis bragged about replacing two Florida elected State Attorneys without substantiated cause.

Florida House Representative Anna Eskamani said Worrell’s removal is absolutely disgusting and another example of DeSantis eroding our local control and democracy. “This politically motivated action should alarm everyone.”

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington noted that Worrell had been elected with nearly two-thirds of the vote in the district. “Make no mistake, State Attorney Worrell has done nothing wrong. This abuse of power by Governor DeSantis is not only an attack of Democratic Black leaders in Florida, but an attack on our democracy itself.”

Debbie Deland, FLNOW President said, “DeSantis is blustering ahead shamelessly in his quest for national power and arrogantly disregarding the will of the people. When duly elected officials who do not subscribe to a white supremacist, sexist, homophobic, and national Christian ideology can be removed from office, we are going fast down a dark road towards autocracy. We cannot tolerate assaults on public education, women’s rights, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, people in need of housing, medical care, voting access, etc., and our judicial system. We must step up to protect our democratic rights and human values. The Florida DeSantis is crafting is not what Floridians want! We want our constitutional rights to be enforced, we want our democratic values to direct our governance. If we want change everyone has to vote!” 

CALL TO ACTION:

Keep informed. Push through the chaos, confusion, distractions, fear and hate DeSantis is thrusting upon us. Know which rights are being removed, perverted, and crushing vulnerable populations. Contact your representatives and voice your concerns, discuss issues with family, neighbors, friends. REGISTER TO VOTE and VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION (remember you need to re-enroll for the vote-by-mail option if you haven’t done so since January 2023).

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Florida NOW: is an intersectional grassroots organization that promotes feminist ideals, leads societal change, eliminates discrimination, and protects the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.

For Immediate Release: July 22, 2023

                         President Debbie Deland, Florida NOW

                                                president@flnow.org  

THE STATE OF FLORIDA HAS BECOME DANGEROUS FOR PEOPLE TO VISIT; RELOCATE; ATTEND SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES & COLLEGES; AND MORE 

Debbie Deland, President of Florida NOW said, “We join the NAACP and other civic organizations, to issue a Florida NOW Travel Advisory to the public. Visiting, relocating, or attending schools in Florida come with heightened risks and definite violations of the US and FL Constitutions by the State Government. Due to the hostile faction of the Florida Government, its Conservative legislators and Governor DeSantis, new laws went into effect on July 1 that discriminate against women, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, teachers, students, unions, documented and undocumented immigrants, etc.”

There is no separation of Church and State. These laws subscribe to a dangerous neo-confederate regressive ideology and are fostering a new Jim Crow. They promote school segregation, cancel Black history, cancel both Black studies and Gender studies in colleges, ban classic books and books with any mention of LGBTQIA+, cancel tenant rights, bust unions, and worse.

Florida is now a permit-less gun carry state. It is legal to carry a concealed weapon without required mandatory background checks and weapon training. As of July 11, 2023 there have been 18 mass shooting in Florida and the year has five moths to go!

The State Government of Florida is driving hate, fear, and confusion at the LGBTQIA+ communities, especially for transgender persons. The Governor signed six expressly anti-LGBTQIA+ laws this year, more than the last seven years combined.

The State Government of Florida is driving hate, fear and confusion at all levels of education by canceling Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Programs and prohibiting the teaching of the actual history of People of Color, especially for Black communities. They do not support diversity in any way.

The State Government of Florida is anti-teacher by restricting educators from discussing diversity, gender identities, LGBTQIA+ and social justice issues with the threat of losing their licenses to teach. Its book banning mandate and racial justice prohibitions have already cost educators their jobs. The new union busting laws was aimed at women, teachers.

People who are more than 15 weeks pregnant, do not have access to full healthcare options. In September, the 15-week abortion ban is expected to become a virtual abortion ban when it goes down to a six-week abortion ban.

FLORIDA NOW REACTS:

Debbie Deland, President of the Florida National Organization for Women, further reports, “Florida is no longer a state that can support constitutional protections of democratic values. Its governance has perverted freedom to mean for only those who subscribe to the fascist beliefs of Governor DeSantis. The government drives hate and violence against the populations that do not fit the white supremacist criteria. It isn’t safe for LGBTQIA+, especially Trans individuals, to move here or visit Florida. It isn’t safe for people of color to live, visit, or be educated in Florida. Teachers should not move here due to union busting, very low pay, the ‘don’t say gay’ law from K-12 in our schools, book banning, and the risk of losing their licenses based on new laws that are so vague. Florida resident teachers are already leaving the state! Students who want a balanced education can no longer get that in Florida. High school students in Florida will have a hard time getting into schools outside of Florida due to DeSantis battles over the books students will be allowed to read, not supporting the accepted standardized tests for college entrance, rejecting well-researched with expert input Advance Placement courses, and the rewriting of textbooks to be sure no one feels ‘uncomfortable.’ We learn when we are made uncomfortable. A lot of our history should make us uncomfortable. No matter who you are, it is not safe or beneficial to visit, go to school, or move to Florida. It is not a free state, but rather one of autocracy, revenge, and one that tramples on first amendment rights, voting rights, and more. The legislature majority and Ron DeSantis are white, mostly male, supremacists, racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-education, anti-teacher, anti-union, anti-Disney, and more. For Florida NOW, I sadly issue this travel advisory against Florida and reiterate that the Florida National Organization for Women is in open rebellion against this desecration of our democracy. We will do everything in our power to inform and educate the public. We will partner with those who fight for the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of those whose lives are being cruelly shattered. Florida is not a free or safe state.”

CALL TO ACTION:

Clearly, we need different leadership in Florida. Our state has gone beyond a tipping point. Please speak withothers, vote informed, call/email/visit your legislative leaders and let them know the weight of your concern, participate in demonstrations, write letters to the editor, more. We must preserve and nurture our base with truth and compassion to push the arc of history towards decency and a sense of humanity.

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Florida NOW: is an intersectional grassroots organization that promotes feminist ideals, leads societal change, eliminates discrimination, and protects the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life. It is the largest civil rights organization in the country demanding women’s rights.