CALL TO ACTION: Amendment 4 Passed: Now what about us?
NOTE Given the response to this post we are including a preamble.
The ACLU is a friend. The ACLU of Florida (and national) represents the homeless registrants in Miami-Dade and the ACLU of Michigan has done great things for it’s state and those in the 6th Circuit. The point is here is not to bash the ACLU, but sometimes nudging a friend is different than pushing the opposition. That means acknowledging and respecting their help over the years while making principled criticisms.
As an organization that has been involved in the legal challenges, ACLU has first hand knowledge of how registrants have been treated, which is all the more reason they should be embarrassed over Amendment 4.
These organization are now celebrating the victory without mention of those who are now subject to further stigma.
Now that they have their victory on Amendment 4, let’s urge them to take action to ensure that a fundamental right like voting is not taken away from anyone. They have their victory on Amendment 4… now what about us?
This past Tuesday, voters in Florida passed Amendment 4. Now the Florida Constitution will be amended to restore the voting rights of former felons who have completed their sentences…
… except people convicted of murder or sex offenders.
The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and the ACLU invested millions into getting this amendment passed and they were successful.
They were also successful in discriminating against us!
For organizations like FRRC which claims to be, “committed to ending the disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions”, or the ACLU which, “works to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties” they certainly threw us under the bus quite easily!
Contact the ACLU and FRRC and let them know you don’t appreciate being discriminated against.
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I can’t read any post election news on Amendment 4 because it makes me sick.
” Strong financial support came from donors like the American Civil Liberties Union, which paid for more than $5 million in advertising on TV and social media, in both English and Spanish. ”
And then talking about that voting is a fundamental right for ” all ”
ACLU is dead to me.
It seems to me that Amendment 4 as written violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
The gay community in our country made a successful and similar argument to SCOTUS. They now have a legal “right” under the equal protection clause to obtain a marriage license in Florida and all other states, even though the 14th Amendment does not specifically or expressly grant that right. Seems to me that we too are being denied our right to vote and the equal protection clause. I’d like for some lawyers to review this for us.
Bill
After considering all the comments as well as yours there is a lot of truth in what everyone has said. Simply on the basis of constitutionally and the fact that the law is biased from the very start and established on the false assumption of a very high reoffence rate which has been proven over and over to be false. The new law must be challenged, of coarse the ACLU will not help and it will be struck down in any state court so would have to be take to federal courts. It will cost more than FAC can raise . Is there any other place we can go to , to get assistance, maybe NARSOL.
The ACLU is a bipolar organization…or they are just selective to what issue suits them in the current moment. There is no loyalty. They can defense us and win a big case (Snyder), and then throw us under the bus, if there is a greater issue(Amendment 4)
I don’t trust them, and they lost my support and my families support as well.
Politicians insisted on the no Sex Offender no Murderer piece because none of them wanted it to be used against them in the future (see Willie Horton). I just hope the promise of a fair vehicle for registrants to regain their voting rights isn’t just smoke by legislation or the courts I don’t care how it happens as long as it happens.
Nothing will ever be done to help us. IDK why we even bother still trying. My lawyer filed a motion to end my probation last Friday and by Monday….. MONDAY! It was already sent back DENIED. How in the hell does anything in the court system work that damn fast?? So we can do all the emailing and yelling and screaming we want. It won’t amount to a hill of beans. I personally am done. I can’t live like this anymore. Full blown rebellion and revolt is hoe I’m living at this point. This awful country and it’s sham form of government can go to hell for all I care…..ESPECIALLY FLORIDA!!
Dear MJ, I’m not a lawyer but maybe the following link and discussion is provides is of some help to you and anyone in your position.
https://www.foxrothschild.com/publications/an-11th-circ-update-on-motions-to-end-supervised-release/
Start reading case law it doesn’t matter if you took a plea or trial there is a ton of relief out there. Would help to file pro se so your not waisting cash early term I have a stock motion I made and have given to my employees that works like a charm.
Does anyone know of any study groups?
The ACLU cares about money and popularity..
Sex offenders are a demonized, destitute majority that have been turned into pariahs that are political suicide to be seen as helping…..Murderers will get to vote before sex offenders do….They will also get ACLU help before ACLU does anything other then token help to sex offenders.. Think about it..ACLU spends more time and money helping non-citizen-criminal-aliens then American ,citizen sex offenders!!!
No money… No fame….No likey…..add in plague status and be insured they wont touch you with a ten foot pole any more then they must with rubber gloves..
At this point, I don’t even trust them touching any of our cases. They’ll probably sabotage our cases just so their preciously corrupted Amendment can stand justifiable.
I agree.Ive watched many of the cases the ACLU fields for registered…jailhouse attorneys could do better, and out of the 977,999 people they can choose to represent they seem to always pick the ones that couldn’t get a mercy nod from a blind nun…deliberate sabatoge to clog any future effort is what it appears since they can present such heart string cases for everyone else in and out of the country.