Divide and conquer tactics in the age of hysteria and fake news.
By: Ryan Ramsey
In my daily social media scrolling, I came across a post by a friend, enraged over a series of bills filed in the Florida Legislature, touted as anti-gay. The headlines were doom and gloom, describing a legislative assault on gay rights.
The claim was that the bills were pushing “Conversion Therapy”, and removing workplace protections for gay people, and that they would deny health care for transgender youth.
I was immediately suspicious, because typically when there is onerous legislation, the bill is linked. The article I saw on social media did not even have bill numbers. I had to read multiple articles to track them down, which made me even more skeptical.
In the end it was such a perfect case study in the left wing co-option of a civil rights cause, it prompted this latest installment in my “Uncivil Rights” series. In fact, the effort seems to be a direct assault on some of the most pro-liberty legislation in recent memory, and the attempt to use gay rights as a vehicle to muster opposition is disgusting.
As an activist, the first thing I want to do is show the horrible bill, such as Florida’s Red Flag law and ban on military age people from owning any type of firearm. Not only did I publish the bill, but after tarring and feathering the treasonous Senators behind it, I published the voting record so the electorate knew who betrayed them.
The articles about this alleged assault on gay rights were extraordinarily biased, insinuating racism, and full of doom and gloom about this new war on gays, while being devoid of actual information.
Here are some of the examples:
Finally, I was able to find bill numbers to look at the actual legislation here, from an article out of New York:
Three of the bills were very short, very concise, and …..surprise…. they had NOTHING to do with LGBT rights.
The fourth bill had already been discussed at length, and the consensus was that Libertarians were in support. The bill, SB-1864, “The Vulnerable Child Protection Act”, would protect minor children from having their gender reassigned with surgery or hormones.
No child is mature enough to make such permanent changes at such a young age, and no adult has the right to do those things to them. Libertarians recognize that the genitals of children should be off limits to adults, unless medically necessary. The lifelong health consequences of blocking puberty are not to be taken lightly. A child cannot possibly consent, and adults who force that on them are abusing those children.
Let us take a look at the other “hatemongering anti-gay legislation” proposed by the Florida Legislature, SB-778, HB-305 , and SB-1336.
I have quoted the full bill texts at the bottom for the reader.
This new propaganda campaign is a classic example of the left co-opting the civil rights movement, in this case to prevent free market economics and deregulation. These bills are something Libertarians have advocated and placed as a high priority for many years.
There is zero in these bills about “Conversion Therapy” or LGBT rights, and they specifically note the retention of all existing state and federal civil rights protections.
- SB-778 prevents local governments from infringing on the property rights of homeowners by banning home businesses. It does not allow commercial signage, large amounts of employees, or other activities currently affected by local zoning. It just prevents bans on home operated businesses and would prevent local laws that ban AirBNB type businesses, something Libertarians have long fought to protect.
- HB-305 Removes the ability of localities to create onerous employment standards, and creates a uniform set of rules. No state or federal anti-discrimination legislation is repealed, no civil rights protections are removed. This simply ends the days of letting local busybodies create endless arbitrary rules on local businesses which stifle economic growth.
- SB-1336 is the powerhouse liberty bill of the bunch. It removes a bunch of occupational licensing requirements, another huge issue that many in the Libertarian Party of Florida have fought long and hard for. It also deregulates a number of areas in contractor licensing, like screen porches, decorative landscaping, stucco, and other non-structural trades that have no bearing on the safety of a building, opening up huge new areas to aspiring entrepreneurs. The other main component of the bill directly affects me. I have 4 years of education that is state sanctioned, and have passed the Construction Trades Qualifying Board in Duval County way back in 2003. I have certifications galore from the EPA, OSHA, NEFBA, and NHBA, yet under current law, each county can force me to pay hundreds of dollars to take another two day long test, and soak me for whatever fees the enemies of the free market can dream of. This bill says that if I meet the state standard for Electricians, passing the board in one county means I qualify in any other county, and they cannot charge me any more fees or create more arbitrary standards.
Don’t believe the hype.
Read the bills instead of buying into the leftist propaganda.
Gays have equal rights. They can get married. The stated goal of equality has been achieved. Even the formerly hostile Republican Party is full of gays now. The Christian Conservatives don’t even care anymore, and are willing to leave their idea of sin as a matter between you and your creator where it belongs.
Using the cause of gay rights to fight for Socialist economics in this case, or to push for new imaginary rights to screw with children’s genitals, adding “P” to LGBT and fighting for the “rights” of pedophiles to have sex with kids, forcing transgender story hour on schools, organizing the ridiculous dildo waving parades and child trans strip teases in gay bars….these things are extraordinarily dangerous.
They are not imaginary, I see them with increasing frequency.
I have a number of gay friends that are more outraged about these behaviors and advocacy than even the rural Conservatives in my small town. They fear this will bring ACTUAL backlash in the legislature that could affect gay rights, and even worse, many express fear the manufactured hostility will end in the return of gay bashing.
These are not gay rights causes, but attempts by the worst tyrants on the planet to further Marxism under the guise of gay rights, in the same manner ANTIFA hides Communist terrorism under feigned anti-racism. They are not pro-gay they are anti-traditionalist.
Champions of gay rights now face the same crossroads ANTIFA faced with the end of Franco, Hitler, and Mussolini in 1945. There is great danger afoot. When a movement achieves its goals they need to create new ones or lose their identity. The evolution into madness is all that is left, and there is money and political influence at stake.
To understand the origin of these tactics, their role in the decline of liberty, and the Frankfurt School that laid the blueprint for Socialism in the west, read about it HERE.
America’s LGBT community needs to cut the Marxist elements out, and create a loud counter voice to left wing political operations like Equality Florida.
Being gay does not mean you have to be a Communist, in fact some of the worst atrocities against the LGBT community were at the hands of Communists like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, just 90 miles from our shores.
Call out Equality Florida and the mass media for lying about these bills, and for using your sexual preference to further left wing politics.
Build bridges instead of letting the state pit gays and conservatives against each other to keep their power.
Freedom is for everyone.
SB-778
Florida Senate – 2020 SB 778
By Senator Perry
8-01088-20 2020778__1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to home-based businesses; creating s.
3 559.955, F.S.; providing legislative findings and
4 intent; specifying conditions under which a business
5 is considered a home-based business; authorizing a
6 home-based business to operate in a residential zone
7 under certain circumstances; preempting to the state
8 the ability to regulate or license home-based
9 businesses; prohibiting a local government from
10 certain actions relating to the licensure and
11 regulation of home-based businesses; providing an
12 effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Section 559.955, Florida Statutes, is created to
17 read:
18 559.955 Home-based businesses; legislative findings and
19 intent; preemption.—
20 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage small
21 and home-based business enterprises. To that end, the
22 Legislature finds that:
23 (a) Small and home-based businesses are a critical part of
24 the economy of the state and provide unique and valuable
25 benefits to the communities in which they are located.
26 (b) Residential property is often the most valuable asset
27 owned by a potential small business entrepreneur.
28 (c) Residential property can be put to beneficial use by
29 potential small business entrepreneurs in ways that are
30 consistent with residential use.
31 (2) For purposes of this section, a business is considered
32 a home-based business if it operates, in whole or in part, from
33 a residential property and meets the following criteria:
34 (a) The employees of the home-based business reside in the
35 residential dwelling or are immediate family members of
36 residents of the dwelling, except that up to two employees are
37 not required to be related to a resident of or reside in the
38 dwelling.
39 (b) Parking related to the business activities of the home40 based business complies with local zoning requirements.
41 (c) The business activities of the home-based business do
42 not generate a substantial increase in the following:
43 1. Traffic.
44 2. Noise.
45 3. Waste or recycling.
46 (d) As viewed from the street, the use of the residential
47 property is consistent with the uses of the residential areas
48 that surround the property.
49 (e) The activities of the home-based business are secondary
50 to the property’s use as a residential dwelling.
51 (3)(a) A home-based business that operates from a
52 residential property as provided in subsection (2) may operate
53 in an area zoned for residential use.
54 (b) A residential dwelling that is used as a home-based
55 business must meet the applicable standards of the Florida
56 Building Code.
57 (4) The licensure and regulation of home-based businesses
58 is preempted to the state, and local governments may not enact59 or enforce any ordinance, regulation, or policy, or take any
60 action, to license or otherwise regulate a home-based business.
61 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
HB-305
HB 305 2020
hb0305-00
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to preemption of conditions of
3 employment; amending s. 218.077, F.S.; defining
4 “condition of employment”; revising definitions;
5 preempting to the state the right to regulate the
6 conditions of employment by an employer; conforming
7 provisions to changes made by the act; voiding certain
8 ordinances, regulations, or policies that are
9 preempted by the act; providing an effective date.
10
11 WHEREAS, the needs and expectations of job applicants and
12 employees must be appropriately balanced against the needs and
13 expectations of employers, who operate businesses that must
14 respond to the demands of a dynamic and rapidly changing economy
15 at the local, state, national, and international levels, and
16 WHEREAS, promoting the economic growth and prosperity of
17 Florida citizens is an important objective of state government,
18 and this economic growth and prosperity depends upon maintaining
19 a stable business climate that will attract new employers to the
20 state and allow existing employers to expand, and
21 WHEREAS, a local government should insert itself into the
22 relationship between employer and employee only where a need for
23 regulation has been clearly demonstrated, and
24 WHEREAS, allowing a local government to impose its
25 individual requirements on the employment relationship could
HB 305 2020
26 reasonably be expected to drive businesses out of those
27 communities and out of the state in search of a more consistent
28 and predictable operating environment, thus disrupting Florida’s
29 economy and threatening the public welfare, and
30 WHEREAS, in light of these negative impacts, federal and
31 state governments must be relied upon to adopt uniform
32 regulations governing the employment relationship that strike an
33 appropriate balance between the needs and expectations of
34 employees and employers, NOW, THEREFORE,
35
36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
37
38 Section 1. Section 218.077, Florida Statutes, is amended
39 to read:
40 218.077 Wage and conditions of employment benefits
41 requirements by political subdivisions; restrictions.—
42 (1) As used in this section, the term:
43 (a) “Condition of employment” means those terms that form
44 the basis of a relationship between an employer and a
45 prospective or actual employee, including preemployment
46 screenings; job classification determinations; job
47 responsibilities; hours of work; schedules and schedule changes;
48 wages; payment of wages; leave; paid or unpaid days off for
49 holidays, illness, vacation, and personal necessity; and
50 employee benefits such as retirement, profit-sharing, health,
51 disability, death, and insurance benefits.
52 (b)(a) “Employee” means any natural person who is employed
53 by an employer entitled under state or federal law to receive a
54 state or federal minimum wage.
55 (c)(b) “Employer” means any person who engages in any
56 activity, enterprise, or business and employs at least one
57 employee is required under state or federal law to pay a state
58 or federal minimum wage to the person’s employees.
59 (d)(c) “Employer contracting to provide goods or services
60 for the political subdivision” means a person contracting with
61 the political subdivision to provide goods or services to, for
62 the benefit of, or on behalf of, the political subdivision in
63 exchange for valuable consideration, and includes a person
64 leasing or subleasing real property owned by the political
65 subdivision.
66 (d) “Employment benefits” means anything of value that an
67 employee may receive from an employer in addition to wages and
68 salary. The term includes, but is not limited to, health
69 benefits; disability benefits; death benefits; group accidental
70 death and dismemberment benefits; paid or unpaid days off for
71 holidays, sick leave, vacation, and personal necessity;
72 retirement benefits; and profit-sharing benefits.
73 (e) “Federal minimum wage” means a minimum wage required
74 under federal law, including the federal Fair Labor Standards
75 Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. ss. 201 et seq.
76 (f) “Political subdivision” means a county, municipality,
77 department, commission, district, board, or other public body,
78 whether corporate or otherwise, created by or under state law.
79 (g) “Wage” means that compensation for employment to which
80 any state or federal minimum wage applies.
81 (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), a
82 political subdivision may not establish, mandate, or otherwise
83 require an employer to pay a minimum wage, other than a state or
84 federal minimum wage, to apply a state or federal minimum wage
85 to wages exempt from a state or federal minimum wage, or to
86 offer a condition of employment that is provide employment
87 benefits not otherwise required by state or federal law. The
88 regulation of conditions of employment is expressly preempted to
89 the state.
90 (3) This section does not:
91 (a) Limit the authority of a political subdivision to
92 establish a minimum wage other than a state or federal minimum
93 wage or to require a condition of employment provide employment
94 benefits not otherwise required under state or federal law:
95 1. For the employees of the political subdivision;
96 2. For the employees of an employer contracting to provide
97 goods or services for the political subdivision, or for the
98 employees of a subcontractor of such an employer, under the
99 terms of a contract with the political subdivision; or
100 3. For the employees of an employer receiving a direct tax
101 abatement or subsidy from the political subdivision, as a
102 condition of the direct tax abatement or subsidy.
103 (b) Apply to a domestic violence or sexual abuse
104 ordinance, order, rule, or policy adopted by a political
105 subdivision.
106 (4) If it is determined by the officer or agency
107 responsible for distributing federal funds to a political
108 subdivision that compliance with this act would prevent receipt
109 of those federal funds, or would otherwise be inconsistent with
110 federal requirements pertaining to such funds, then this act
111 does not apply, but only to the extent necessary to allow
112 receipt of the federal funds or to eliminate the inconsistency
113 with such federal requirements.
114 (5) This section does not prohibit a federally authorized
115 and recognized tribal government from establishing conditions of
116 employment for any requiring employment benefits for a person
117 employed within a territory over which the tribe has
118 jurisdiction.
119 Section 2. Any existing ordinance, regulation, or policy
120 of a political subdivision that is preempted by this act is
121 void.
122 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
SB-1336
Florida Senate – 2020 SB 1336
By Senator Perry
8-01509A-20 20201336__1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to preemption of local occupational
3 licensing; creating s. 163.21, F.S.; defining terms;
4 preempting licensing of occupations to the state;
5 providing exceptions; prohibiting local governments
6 from imposing additional licensing requirements or
7 modifying licensing unless specified conditions are
8 met; specifying that certain local licensing that does
9 not meet specified criteria does not apply and may not
10 be enforced; amending s. 489.117, F.S.; specifying
11 that certain specialty contractors are not required to
12 register with the Construction Industry Licensing
13 Board; prohibiting local governments from requiring
14 certain specialty contractors to obtain a license
15 under specified circumstances; specifying job scopes
16 for which a local government may not require a
17 license; amending ss. 489.1455 and 489.5335, F.S.;
18 authorizing counties and municipalities to issue
19 certain journeyman licenses; providing an effective
20 date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Section 163.21, Florida Statutes, is created to
25 read:
26 163.21 Licensing of occupations preempted to state.—
27 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
28 (a) “Licensing” means any training, education, test,
29 certification, registration, procedure, or license that is
30 required for a person to perform an occupation in addition to
31 any associated fee.
32 (b) “Local government” means a county, municipality,
33 special district, or political subdivision of the state.
34 (c) “Occupation” means a paid job, profession, work, line
35 of work, trade, employment, position, post, career, field,
36 vocation, or craft.
37 (2) PREEMPTION OF OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING TO THE STATE.—The
38 licensing of occupations is expressly preempted to the state and
39 this section supersedes any local government licensing
40 requirement of occupations with the exception of the following:
41 (a) Any local government that imposed licenses on
42 occupations before July 1, 2020. However, any such local
43 government licensing of occupations expires on July 1, 2022.
44 (b) Any local government licensing of occupations
45 authorized by general law.
46 (3) EXISTING LICENSING LIMIT.—A local government that
47 licenses occupations and retains such licensing as set forth in
48 paragraph (2)(a) may not impose additional licensing
49 requirements on that occupation or modify such licensing.
50 (4) LOCAL LICENSING NOT AUTHORIZED.—Local licensing of an
51 occupation that is not authorized under this section or
52 otherwise authorized by general law does not apply and may not
53 be enforced.
54 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
55 489.117, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
56 489.117 Registration; specialty contractors.—
57 (4)(a) A person holding a local license whose job scope
58 does not substantially correspond to either the job scope of one
59 of the contractor categories defined in s. 489.105(3)(a)-(o), or
60 the job scope of one of the certified specialty contractor
61 categories established by board rule, is not required to
62 register with the board to perform contracting activities within
63 the scope of such specialty license. A local government, as
64 defined in s. 163.21(1), may not require a person to obtain a
65 license for a job scope which does not substantially correspond
66 to the job scope of one of the contractor categories defined in
67 s. 489.105(3)(a)-(o) and (q) or authorized in s. 489.1455(1).
68 For purposes of this section, job scopes for which a local
69 government may not require a license include, but are not
70 limited to, painting, flooring, cabinetry, interior remodeling,
71 driveway or tennis court installation, decorative stone, tile,
72 marble, granite, or terrazzo installation, plastering,
73 stuccoing, caulking, canvas awning, and ornamental iron
74 installation.
75 Section 3. Section 489.1455, Florida Statutes, is amended
76 to read:
77 489.1455 Journeyman; reciprocity; standards.—
78 (1) Counties and municipalities are authorized to issue
79 journeyman licenses in the plumbing, pipe fitting, mechanical,
80 or HVAC trades.
81 (2)(1) An individual who holds a valid, active journeyman
82 license in the plumbing, pipe fitting plumbing/pipe fitting,
83 mechanical, or HVAC trades issued by any county or municipality
84 in this state may work as a journeyman in the trade in which he
85 or she is licensed in any county or municipality of this state
86 without taking an additional examination or paying an additional
87 license fee, if he or she:
88 (a) Has scored at least 70 percent, or after October 1,
89 1997, at least 75 percent, on a proctored journeyman Block and
90 Associates examination or other proctored examination approved
91 by the board for the trade in which he or she is licensed;
92 (b) Has completed an apprenticeship program registered with
93 a registration agency defined in 29 C.F.R. s. 29.2 and
94 demonstrates 4 years’ verifiable practical experience in the
95 trade for which he or she is licensed, or demonstrates 6 years’
96 verifiable practical experience in the trade for which he or she
97 is licensed;
98 (c) Has satisfactorily completed specialized and advanced
99 module coursework approved by the Florida Building Commission,
100 as part of the building code training program established in s.
101 553.841, specific to the discipline or, pursuant to
102 authorization by the certifying authority, provides proof of
103 completion of such coursework within 6 months after such
104 certification; and
105 (d) Has not had a license suspended or revoked within the
106 last 5 years.
107 (3)(2) A local government may charge a registration fee for
108 reciprocity, not to exceed $25.
109 Section 4. Section 489.5335, Florida Statutes, is amended
110 to read:
111 489.5335 Journeyman; reciprocity; standards.—
112 (1) Counties and municipalities are authorized to issue
113 journeyman licenses in the electrical and alarm system trades.
114 (2)(1) An individual who holds a valid, active journeyman
115 license in the electrical or alarm system trade issued by any
116 county or municipality in this state may work as a journeyman in
117 the trade in which he or she is licensed in any other county or
118 municipality of this state without taking an additional
119 examination or paying an additional license fee, if he or she:
120 (a) Has scored at least 70 percent, or after October 1,
121 1997, at least 75 percent, on a proctored journeyman Block and
122 Associates examination or other proctored examination approved
123 by the board for the electrical trade in which he or she is
124 licensed;
125 (b) Has completed an apprenticeship program registered with
126 a registration agency defined in 29 C.F.R. s. 29.2 and
127 demonstrates 4 years’ verifiable practical experience in the
128 electrical trade for which he or she is licensed, or
129 demonstrates 6 years’ verifiable practical experience in the
130 electrical trade for which he or she is licensed;
131 (c) Has satisfactorily completed specialized and advanced
132 module coursework approved by the Florida Building Commission,
133 as part of the building code training program established in s.
134 553.841, specific to the discipline, or, pursuant to
135 authorization by the certifying authority, provides proof of
136 completion of such curriculum or coursework within 6 months
137 after such certification; and
138 (d) Has not had a license suspended or revoked within the
139 last 5 years.
140 (3)(2) A local government may charge a registration fee for
141 reciprocity, not to exceed $25.
142 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
The Libertarian Heathen 