UPDATED CALL TO ACTION: Brevard County. Oppose proposed ordinance
[FAC NOTE: This is turning on absurd. Now businesses will be able to order persons forced to register can’t go within 1000 feet of their business?!?!]
As it stands, any person convicted of sex offenses involving minors cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school, child care facility, park or playground. The county’s current ordinance only states offenders cannot be within 1,000 feet from a school, daycare or playground. According to this article, County Commissioner John Tobias is hopeful that list will soon include some local businesses. “It’s an ordinance at the county level. State has a buffer and we’ve expanded that,” he said.
“It would give law enforcement the ability to arrest one of these offenders or predators who are within that 1,000 foot buffer from the business,” Tobias said. [The new ordinance would create a] new voluntary registry, certifying their business is a place where children regularly congregate, which would restrict sexual offenders and sexual predators from coming within 1,000 feet of the business. Opting in is free for a business.
[FAC NOTE: Please take action]
UPDATED: If you are near Brevard and would like to attend the meeting tomorrow, July 21, 2020, it will take place at 9:00 AM at the Brevard County Government Center,2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way (at Stadium Parkway),Viera, FL 32940
For those of you who have the time between now and Tuesday morning, please send an email to the commissioners listed below (or one email to all) stating your opposition to this proposed ordinance:
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Commissioners meeting adjourned, I see.
Am I too optimistic in supposing that this cursed item did not even make it into today’s agenda?
This is body of the email sent to all the commissioners and Dave Berman who wrote the article posted in today’s Florida Today.
Commissioner Tobia,
I am writing to urge you to not bring your proposed ordinance in front of the commission that would create additional “exclusion zones” for registered sex offenders around any business that requests they be added. I read the recently published article on NewsBreak.com about a news item that appeared on Tampa Bay News 9. The title: “Sex Offenders Could be Barred from Certain Businesses, if a Brevard Commissioner gets his way”. This would be on top of, or an addendum to, the existing Brevard County ordinance, 2006-31, which is already in place.
I have several questions pertaining to your proposal that should be answered prior to any action.
How will these zones be defined and how will the information be published so as to allow citizens affected by the ordinance know where they are?
What county office will be responsible for creating and maintaining the list so all locations are current and valid and then provide this information in a timely manner to anyone requesting it?
The existing ordinance, 2006-31, already does nothing to provide this information to citizens affected by it.
Currently there is no listing published showing any areas that are off limits so that registered offenders can maintain compliance with the ordinance.
Because of the very narrow and specific wording and definitions in the ordinance (2006-31) a registered offender almost never knows if they’re in compliance or violation while going about normal activities related to daily life such as getting gas for their vehicle, going to a bank, shopping for food stuffs, visiting family that otherwise would have no restrictions, and other items required to live their, and their family’s, normal lives. As a tax paying citizen of Brevard County the current ordinance even prohibits me from attending scheduled government meetings. How can I, as a citizen, be prohibited from attending government meetings that by law must be open to the public?
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Department SORT unit, which is currently tasked with maintaining the state required sex offender registration duties, will not check an address or location in order for an offender to be even be able to comply with the current ordinance little lone the new locations that would be added to the “list” (which again, does not exist). They will only check and verify addresses for offenders trying to obtain a place to live.
Because none of these, a list, a map, or the SORT Unit providing legal boundaries, currently exist an offender already cannot comply with the existing ordinance.
Not only would there need to be a published list, the commission would also need to direct the County Manager or Sheriff to assign a responsible office to maintain the list, keeping it current, and would also respond to address verification requests so that registered offenders will know where they can, and cannot, conduct daily life activities.
Having an ordinance, whether the current (2006-31) or an additional one, that does not provide the information required to understand and comply with is indeed arbitrary and not enforceable.
Because I think we should all know our enemy better, I note that this guy’s name seems to actually be Tobia vs. Tobias.
RayO, you are correct.
Good catch, RayO.
Good Day
So as most Registrants know, that during their sentencing, They are read the The Jimmy Rice Act by their Sentencing Judge which means that a Judge can predict the Convicted’s Future….
NOW….The Registrant, is suppose to Predict Areas wherein they are not allow to go…Well, I am not a Fortune Teller, nor are the majority of Registrants
Clearly these are violations of the Commerce Clause, Ex Post Facto, Substantive Due Process, Equal Protection, and in violation of Bills of Attainder and creates Double Jeopardy and additional Cruel and Unusual Punishment
But Tobias(Rep) is running for re-election…This is a person who tried to dissolve his counties Historical Preservation Trust-so He could run things in his OWN fashion-well it failed…He appears to be self-serving ruthless politician….
Hold on Tight Everyone, as this ‘Roller Coaster’ hopefully goes over the embankment!
Email sent.
“Now present day we have a sitting president that has a lawsuit accusing him of raping a 13 year old girl slapping her face and threatening to hurt or kill herself and her family.”
@ROM Do you have a source for this allegation?
@FAC, do you?
Was deleted. I need to do a better job moderating.