Sen. Sobel calls for new task force on hate crimes

After several people were gunned down in a Wisconsin Sikh temple this month, Florida State Sen. Eleanor Sobel is calling for a new task force to look into state policies regarding hate crimes.

“Florida represents a diversity of ethnicities and religious beliefs and we should be doing everything we can to ensure that such a despicable event does not occur here,” Sobel, a Broward County Democrat, said in a statement.  “We have the third largest number of active hate groups in the nation and I want us to begin this process by taking this first step.”

The shooter in the Sikh temple shooting was tied to white supremacist groups.

Sobel said she was not calling for any changes to state law or policy, but simply a review of current state law. In a letter to Gov. Rick Scott, Sobel said the task force should involve representatives from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Supreme Court, the Legislature, the state's Attorney General and private citizens.

There are currently several task forces operating under the govenor's purview, including one created this year to review the state's Stand Your Ground law.

Read Sobel's letter.

@ToluseO

 

 

Foreign law ban poised for House vote

Court or other rulings that uphold foreign law would be void under a widely-criticized measure poised for its final House vote Thursday.

Rep. Larry Metz, R-Eustis, the bill's sponsor, first denied HB 1209 targets a specific group or case. But Democrats eventually pushed him to say the bill stems from a Pakistani case, and "several others throughout the United States."  

School prayer bill advances in Senate

The contentious debate over school prayer is once again being played out before the Florida Legislature.

A bill that would allow voluntary, student-led prayer in secondary schools sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday -– but not before meeting resistance from Anti-Defamation League officials, who called the bill “unnecessary, divisive and unconstitutional.”

Said sponsor Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando: “All I’m trying to do is allow those School Boards and those students who want to partake in this type of activity [the opportunity] to do that.”

Continue reading the story here.

Florida Together to Diana Cardenas: 'Retract and apologize for your public comments regarding the LGBT community'

• Al Cardenas' wife, Diana: Gays 'are in our faces with public display of affection, gay parades, gay rallies, non-stop bombardment!!!'

An open letter from Florida Together Executive Director Michael Kenny to Diana Cardenas, wife of American Conservative Union board chairman Al Cardenas:

Diana Cardenas,

On behalf of Florida Together which represents more than 80 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) organizations in Florida, I call on you to immediately retract and apologize for your public comments regarding the GLBT community.

Read the complete letter at Steve Rothaus' Gay South Florida blog.

Tallahassee reverend: The governor's in the house

On this Sunday before MLK Day, Gov. Rick Scott attended services at the Flipper Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, located on the edge of FAMU in Tallahassee. Scott walked into the tiny chapel with his wife, Ann, just before the 11 a.m. services began and signed a few autographs before taking a third-row seat. As the (awesome) 17-member choir sang, Scott clapped and tapped his foot (he was wearing black cowboy boots with his suit). Rev. Oliver Simmons -- who told the 100 or so congregants that Jesus "ain't your dog but he's got your back" -- a few times addressed Scott from the pulpit, telling him leaders are always targets for critics. "Governor, I don't envy you one bit," he said. Rev. Simmons also said he saw a few church members sending texts, figuring they were telling friends, "The governor's in the house."

And Simmons told Scott he's welcome to join the African-American church, noting "That would be a first." Simmons said he believes it's the first time the church's 80-plus-year history that a governor attended services there. "We're just blessed today," he said. 

After the services, Scott hung around for awhile, posing for pictures with church members. Mrs. Scott said she and the governor plan to visit different churches in Tallahassee and around the state.  

When senators prayed to 'Our economy sucks'

The state Capitol crowd is still chuckling -- and in some cases complaining -- about the prayer of the day delivered in the Senate on Wednesday by the Rev. Don Roberts, the president of Goodwill Industries of Manasota. The pastor's invocation was intended to be a loving tribute to the late Sen. Jim King of Jacksonville, who was a strong supporter of Goodwill's programs. But, along the way, Rev. Roberts took shots at Sen. Mike Bennett, Gov. Charlie Crist, and said "Our economy sucks, if you will excuse the expression, Lord" -- not the kind of language one normally expects from a man of the cloth.

The good reverend even made a blessed plea to overhaul the Florida tax system, saying: "Our tax system remains mired in 19th Century purgatory with no clear consensus on how to get out of this mess, despite former Senate President John McKay’s best efforts." He even took a lighthearted shot at atheists.

The transcript of Roberts' prayer, excerpted from the Senate journal, is below.

-- Steve Bousquet

Proposal would allow gov't spending on parochial schools

A proposed amendment to Florida's constitution unveiled today would allow the state to spend public funds on churches and other sectarian institutions. The proposal would open the door for the state to issue vouchers for students to attend parochial schools.

The measure -- which if approved by the Legislature would go before voters -- is sponsored by Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne, and Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando.

The proposed amendment would read: "Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to provide that an individual or entity may not be barred from participating in any public program because of religion and to delete the prohibition against using revenues from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution."

Read the press release from the lawmakers below: