HB 1 & HB 259 will be presented on the House Floor THURSDAY (3/25/2021) and voted upon FRIDAY (3/26/2021).
This is our last chance to stop the House versions of these pieces of legislation.
1) HB 1 is the proposed legislation pushed forward by Governor DeSantis. The 60 page bill will:
- Create new, heightened criminal charges for individuals who attend protests that turn violent, even if the individuals themselves were not engaged in violence;
- Embolden individuals who would violently harm peaceful protestors by protecting them from civil liability even if they injure or kill someone;
- Overrule nonpartisan local budgets and community budgeting efforts that reduce aw enforcement budgets to invest public dollars in other public safety programs;
- Bringing a weapon to a riot or providing one to others is prohibited except those weapons brought for a "lawful purpose". As written, it seems to be protecting those who may be able to allege that they were bringing their weapons in self defense. In other words this seems to be a way not to charge anti-protestors who will claim self-defense.
- Waive sovereign immunity for municipalities that place limits on the types of tactics law enforcement may use against protestors; and
- Make it a felony to damage or destroy Confederate monuments.
2) HB 259 is the proposed legislation that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to bring guns to churches, synagogues and other religious institutions that share property with schools.
Proponents of this bill claim it is needed to protect the public if a crisis were to break out. We know that smart people can craft smart solutions to security concerns within religious institutions without including guns. Individuals with firearms who have never actually reacted in a crisis situation have a very high risk of harming innocent bystanders or themselves.
We're urging every League & Coalition member to contact their House Representative IMMEDIATELY and encourage them to vote "NO" on these bills.
