One day the Florida house of Representatives says porn is a danger, the next they want to require postings of In God We Trust in all of our schools. Sandwiched in between is absolutely nothing on gun violence and attacks on the teaching profession as they try and strip away collective bargaining from large swathes of teachers. Up is down and black is white in the Florida House of Representatives. Friends we have to do better.
The Florida House of Representatives was in session on Tuesday considering several issues. These included a motion to debate a bill banning the sale of assault weapons in the aftermath of the mass shooting that killed 17 people last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and a resolution declaring pornography a public health risk.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/02/21/florida-house-refuses-to-debate-guns-but-declares-porn-dangerous/?utm_term=.ac5ac4db4c43
With the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting still looming large, its students in the Capitol to lobby for gun controls, the Florida House overwhelmingly passed a measure Wednesday its sponsor said aimed at bringing "light" to the schools.
The Florida House of Representatives was in session on Tuesday considering several issues. These included a motion to debate a bill banning the sale of assault weapons in the aftermath of the mass shooting that killed 17 people last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and a resolution declaring pornography a public health risk.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/02/21/florida-house-refuses-to-debate-guns-but-declares-porn-dangerous/?utm_term=.ac5ac4db4c43
With the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting still looming large, its students in the Capitol to lobby for gun controls, the Florida House overwhelmingly passed a measure Wednesday its sponsor said aimed at bringing "light" to the schools.
The bill (HB 839) would require all public schools to post the state motto, "In God We Trust," in a "conspicuous place."
House Republicans on Tuesday decisively blocked a move by Democrats to debate a ban on assault weapons in Florida, six days after a massacre that took 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The bill (HB 219), which would ban the sale and possession of semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines like the kind used by Nikolas Cruz, has been mired in a House subcommittee for months and has not been heard.
Amid rising tensions at the Capitol, Democrats used a highly unusual procedure to try to move the proposal directly to the House floor for a debate and vote.
Republicans voted it down, 71-36. Several survivors of the high school massacre, watching from the visitors’ gallery, were overcome with emotion, and the action set off a firestorm of controversy on social media.
Florida House lawmakers approved a nearly 200-page omnibus education bill Thursday with a few lines tucked inside that attacks teachers unions.
The Republican-led House passed the bill 66-43 and linked it to $21 billion public-school portion of the approved $87.2 billion budget to the passage of the omnibus education bill.
HB 7055 is a long read, but it's worth your time. Highlights from the bill include:
- A union-busting measure that would decertify teachers’ unions and force them to disband if membership falls below 50 percent of the employees they represent. This proposal solely targets teachers union. HB 25, a similar measure proposed by state Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, requires a similar decertification of all unions except unions representing police, firefighters and correctional officers (usually GOP-friendly organizations dominated by men). If it sounds pretty biased, it's because it is – Plakon even admitted as such when he talked to Scott Maxwell at the Orlando Sentinel. The Florida Education Association points to a report from the Center for American Progress that found Wisconsin teachers saw their salaries fall by about $11,000 after the state restricted collective-bargaining rights.
The Republican-led House passed the bill 66-43 and linked it to $21 billion public-school portion of the approved $87.2 billion budget to the passage of the omnibus education bill.
HB 7055 is a long read, but it's worth your time. Highlights from the bill include:
- A union-busting measure that would decertify teachers’ unions and force them to disband if membership falls below 50 percent of the employees they represent. This proposal solely targets teachers union. HB 25, a similar measure proposed by state Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, requires a similar decertification of all unions except unions representing police, firefighters and correctional officers (usually GOP-friendly organizations dominated by men). If it sounds pretty biased, it's because it is – Plakon even admitted as such when he talked to Scott Maxwell at the Orlando Sentinel. The Florida Education Association points to a report from the Center for American Progress that found Wisconsin teachers saw their salaries fall by about $11,000 after the state restricted collective-bargaining rights.
The republicans in Tallahassee do not represent main street not even the God fearing and Gun loving members. They represent a small far right base that isn't interested in solutions or compromise, just getting their way.
With all due respect to victims & their families but arming teachers is not the answer. This from the brother of a victim:
ReplyDelete"We need more security, we need more firearms on campus, we need better background checks, and we need to study more on mental health."
I would argue that we need less firearms on school campus' but since when did logic ever carry the day. I don't believe that students knowing their homeroom teacher is packing heat will positively contribute to their well-being or sense of security. If we want to turn our schools into maximum security prisons then by all means arm the teachers (and the students while you're at it). Many schools already look like prison from the outside. Guard towers, concertina wires, etc. All that's missing are teachers roving the halls with AR15s looking for students without hall passes.
It's gotten to the point where I can't tell anymore if schools are designed to keep students in or outsiders out. All I know is that all the active shooter videos in the world won't make a bit of difference.