(Jim Luksic, Headline USA) New legislation in Florida that goes into effect this October could make life difficult for anyone caught protesting outside somebody’s home.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, on Monday signed into law state House Bill 1571, which prohibits protests or pickets outside any individual’s residence, the Daily Wire reported.
Anybody who commits such a crime and defies law enforcers’ warnings to stop or disperse may find rough sledding thereafter.
Starting Oct. 1, those violators who are arrested will face second-degree misdemeanor charges.
In part, the law states: “It is unlawful for a person to picket or protest before or about the dwelling of any person with the intent to harass or disturb that person in his or her dwelling.”
The state legislature asserted in a preamble that Florida “has a significant interest in protecting the tranquility and privacy” of one’s home, in addition to shielding residents from the “detrimental effect of targeted picketing.”
DeSantis’ measure was sparked by pro-choice activists protesting outside Supreme Court justices’ dwellings after the leaking of a draft opinion that signaled Roe v. Wade could get overturned.
In a statement Tuesday, the Florida governor said there’s no place for that type of behavior.
“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,” he said.
In making H.B. 1571 a law, DeSantis has again proven he won’t tolerate a spike in crime propelled by leftists, especially those from San Francisco, which he referred to as a “dumpster fire” in April. The governor expressed he doesn’t want such California transplants to maintain their left-wing mentality in the Sunshine State.
“It’s like the leftism, they will not draw the connection between their leftist ideology and the destruction that’s all around them,” DeSantis said.
