Florida state legislators: Vote NO on Governor DeSantis’s anti-protest bill (HB1/SB484) and focus on relief for the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic.
As of February 23, 2021, more than 30,000 Floridians have died from Covid-19. Black and Brown Floridians have suffered some of the highest rates of Covid-19 infection, while making up only a tiny fraction of Floridians who have received the vaccine. Instead of addressing these inequities by focusing on the medical, housing, and unemployment crises caused by his dismal response to the ongoing pandemic, Governor Ron DeSantis wants to silence the same communities by asking the Florida Legislature to make punishing protestors its top priority.
As Jews, we believe that the duty of pikuach nefesh — saving a life — takes precedence over almost all other commandments, and that we must not stand idly by when our fellow humans’ lives are at stake. Our sacred texts also teach us that when we fail to protest injustice, it is as though we have committed the injustice ourselves. These values demand that we act now. We call on our state legislators to vote NO on Governor DeSantis’s anti-protest bill (HB1/SB484) and to focus on relief for the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Governor DeSantis’s anti-protest bill (HB1/SB484):
- Means that anyone who attends a peaceful protest that turns violent can be arrested, charged with a felony, and expect to spend the night in jail — even if they don’t encourage or engage in violence themselves;
- Emboldens individuals who would violently harm protestors by protecting them from civil liability even if they injure or kill someone; and
- Encourages the use of militarized law enforcement tactics by waiving sovereign immunity for cities that place limits on how police respond during protests.
Governor DeSantis wants us to believe that HB1/SB484 is a response to the attempted white supremacist coup at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, but we know that’s a lie. He’s been touting his bill since September 2020, fear-mongering about the powerful protests for racial justice across the country following the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. This bill is a blatant attempt to silence Black and Brown protesters leading powerful movements in Florida and across the country.
Florida is in crisis from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and working class folks, people of color, and Indigenous Floridians are disproportionately impacted. We need our legislators in Tallahassee to use their time in session to pass bills that help our people, not get distracted by Governor DeSantis’s pet project to intimidate and punish peaceful protestors.
We’re calling on our state legislators to vote NO on Governor DeSantis’s anti-protest bill (HB1/SB484). Add your name.