Florida enacts hundreds of new oppressive laws July 1

One day after I move out, Florida slips further into darkness

I left Florida just in time.

Hundreds of new laws went into effect yesterday, July 1, with much of the laws targeting speech, education, academic freedom, women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community.

Florida’s “anti-taxes” Republicans passed the most bloated budget in Florida history this year, including major increases in spending for private schools, private military forces for the Governor,

Governor DeSantis did not credit the funding provided from the federal government in paying for his over-sized budget, nor did he mention the increased taxes required to pay for some of the most expensive private funding measures included in the budget.

Government censorship on speech

From banning Tik Tok (HB 369) to discussions about menstrual cycles (HB 1069), DeSantis’ 2023 agenda severely restricted free speech rights in education.

Schools must now remove any books reported through its book ban policy once they receive a complaint, regardless of the legitimacy or validity of the complaint (CS/HB 1069). Since enacting its book-banning legislation last year, more than 350 books have been banned statewide and libraries have had to restrict access and remove all books pending individual review.

Notably, the DeSantis regime attacked a school teacher earlier this year for recording the empty shelves at one Duval County school after the school was told to remove all books pending review. DeSantis’ staff targeted the employee who showed the empty shelves in a series of propaganda posts and even videos online, using government resources to defame the teacher and costing him his job.

Anti-LGBT Laws

From bathroom bills (HB 1521) to banning pronouns (HB 1069/SB 1320), Florida’s laws expanding attacks on the LGBT community were part of larger push to criminalize and target already-marginalized and vulnerable communities.