Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
A threat to free speech at Florida’s Capitol
Welcome to Florida’s Capitol, one of the least accessible state government centers in the United States.
It’s nearly an all-day drive to Tallahassee from South Florida, the state’s most populous region. Albany, Harrisburg and Sacramento are also isolated from their states’ population hubs, but Tallahassee beats them all. The place where the governor and legislators make far-reaching decisions about our lives is closer to New Orleans than to Fort Lauderdale, and flights there are inconvenient and expensive.
To their credit, many people still get there, often tired and hungry after all-night bus rides, but determined to be heard. They peacefully march, chant, sing and wave signs, sometimes loudly. They are exercising their lungs and their constitutional right of freedom of expression. Their presence is proof of a free society and a vibrant democracy. Their voices must not be muffled or marginalized in any way. Besides, a state “anti-riot” law, enacted last year, was supposedly the solution to unruly protests. What’s the problem here?
Stifling dissent is a big step toward totalitarianism, so it’s of grave concern that the state plans restrictions on public protests in and around the capital complex. The change is sought by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Department of Management Services, an agency that manages state buildings and property known as the Florida Facilities Pool. Recently re-elected overwhelmingly, the governor claims he leads the “freest state” in the Union, but he also calls Florida a “law and order state.” Both can’t be true and they’re obviously not.