Weekly Update #248

Dear Members and Advocates,

Happy New Year!

As we launch 2023, we wanted to share some stats from 2022 so you can follow the direction the Florida Action Committee has grown and changed.

Thanks to our incredible Membership Chair, our regional and county coordinators and all of the people who volunteer for our membership committee, we have grown our numbers. According to our membership database, 393 new individuals were added in 2022. That’s an average of one new member every day, which is a pretty great accomplishment for an organization that even it’s founders wish they didn’t need to be a part of!

Thanks to the awesome team that administers our website and shares content, Google Analytics shows that our site traffic has increased by nearly 50% since this same time last year. That increase is attributed to several factors, (a) increased membership, (b) more content has been added that is being indexed, (c) our page authority keeps increasing the longer we are around, (d) the number of referral sources we have pointing to our page, (e) we’ve added the title of our weekly updates (and the updates themselves) into the main-page posts, (f) we have just started to target a broader audience with our messaging rather than writing content that only appeals to registrants, and (g), we put together a pretty good website with lots of good content and resources that people are actually using.

Another accomplishment this past year is that we’ve ventured out. As an organization of registrants, we’ve spent a long time hiding in a cave. We’ve decided to start coming out of our caves. Whether that’s been organizing meet and greets where we can come together, socialize and exchange ideas, or it’s been volunteers joining reentry coalitions, showing up to political rallies, conventions or something as brazen as putting up a billboard. To accomplish our mission, we needed to do more than talk among ourselves. We needed to talk to whomever will listen, in whatever forum we can get an audience and at every opportunity we have. I don’t want to steal the “come out of the closet” phrase from another worthy movement, so let’s go with “come out of the cave”. We’ve really come out of our cave in 2022 and we plan to expand on that in 2023.

Another big achievement needs to be credited to the wonderful attorneys who are litigating the Does v. Swearingen (Ex Post Facto Plus I) and Harper v. Swearingen (Ex Post Facto Plus II) lawsuits. BOTH cases are actively being litigated in Federal Court. Between the brave plaintiffs, the knowledgeable experts, the wise Judges (who denied the State’s Motion to Dismiss and Remanded our case on appeal), the generous donors who have contributed money to keep these lawsuit afloat and everyone else who has been a part of these cases, there are so many reasons to consider these cases an accomplishment. And these should not overshadow the other cases that have been filed this past year, specifically recognizing the accomplishments of the attorneys at Florida Justice institute (FJI) who brought suit (and prevailed) on behalf of our members in Brevard who were unable to even attend a County Commission meeting, and also brought suit on behalf of our members who had to post a “No Candy or Treats” sign on Halloween. These were not only victories for those in Brevard or Duval, but huge deterrents in any other County who might want to bring their own similar ordinance. And, of course, even the county-wide accomplishments should not overshadow the individuals in the City of Gainesville who sued over the residency restriction and got them to roll it back! Incredible strides have been made from the State level, to the County level, to the City level. From the most seasoned attorneys, to a couple who simply had enough. Lots of appreciation needs to be shared with lots of people on the legal front.

And legislatively we’ve had a good year and by good year, we mean nothing tragic has happened. No significant bad idea legislation was passed. When something was introduced that would have been offensive or unconstitutional, we put out a call to action and dozens (if not hundreds) of our members and followers responded asking that it be stricken, and fortunately nothing went anywhere. While we’re often busy on the litigation front (trying to get ineffective and unconstitutional laws rolled back), we can’t take our eyes off the legislative front (trying to prevent new unconstitutional laws getting put in). We are approaching that time of year and ask that you keep monitoring our website for anything new that emerges.

Last but not least is education. Education always seems to be the forgotten aspect of what we do because it’s not the most dramatic. There is no sudden change (as would come from getting a court order) and there is no period of scrambling (as would come from reacting to a call to action in anticipation of a legislative decision). Education is more of a prolonged process. It takes time to change people’s minds from beliefs that are pretty firmly engrained. Education is also more of a one-person-at-a-time approach. While it might not be as “exciting” as the two other prongs of our efforts, it is as important in that all three efforts support each other. We will never effectuate change if we cannot educate the masses on the truth vs. myths about the registry. That ties into the changes we are trying to make in the legislature, that ties into the changes we are trying to make in the courts, that ties into the changes we are trying to make in bringing people out of their caves and that ties into growing our movement.

Look out for our annual letter, which will be mailed to you in the coming weeks. It will have more details about our plans for 2023. Also, please look out for a survey that will soon be posted on our website, asking you (our membership) for your priorities for 2023. As we’ve grown in size and diversity, we have grown in the number of issues and challenges that are brought to us each day. We want to make sure each of your voices are considered and we need to make sure that our limited resources are being applied towards the efforts that will have the greatest impact.

Here’s to a great 2023!

Sincerely,

The Florida Action Committee

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ANNOUNCEMENTS – MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Next Monthly Membership Meeting – Thursday January 5 at 8pm ET.  Call 319-527-3487.  Topic: Success of FAC.  The Florida Action Committee President and Board of Directors will give update on accomplishments in 2022 and Goals for 2023.  If you have trouble connecting? Text CALL ME to 319-527-3487 to received a call back and be connected to the meeting.

Next New Membership Orientation Meeting- Thursday January 12 at 8pm ET.  Call 319-527-3487.  No agenda.  Call in to ask about resources, the organization, volunteer opportunities,  or anything on your mind.  Trouble connecting? Text CALL ME to 319-527-3487 to received a call back and be connected to the meeting.

See Calendar of Events – Keep up with Meet-and-Greets in your area, Support groups, Membership Calls, and other events.  For questions and more information contact the Membership Team;   [email protected] or call 833-273-7325,Option 1.

Click Here for Calendar and double click on the event to view details and RSVP instructions. Just some of the upcoming events below.

Become a County Coordinator.  NEW Training Class starts week of January 15, 2023.  The only requirement is your desire to HELP us organize your county.  You will never be left alone because you will part of a team that supports each other.  If you are interested in joining the County Coordinator Team, leave message at 833-273-7325, Option 1, or email [email protected]

Letter-Writing Campaigns – If you would like to participate in sending educational information to specific decision makers in Florida, please  contact [email protected].  Volunteers must be willing to proudly identify themselves by using their own name and return address on the letters.

SOME HEADLINES FROM THE WEEK

 CT: People can put criminal past behind them in the new year (except those with…)

With the new year, tens of thousands of people in Connecticut will be able to put their criminal pasts behind them, and moving forward others convicted of future crimes will have the same opportunity. The state’s “Clean Slate” law that takes effect today, New Year’s…

‘Miya’s Law’ set to take effect January 1st

Beginning Sunday, Jan. 1, landlords will be required to keep an accurate log of everyone who has been issued a copy of an apartment key. Also, all employees of any licensed lodging establishment must get a criminal and sex offender background check for every employee…

Once Fallen Survey

Derek Logue of Once Fallen has asked us to help promote his survey According to Derek, “this survey was designed to help registry reformists and abolitionists understand the current state of the efforts to reform or abolish the sex offense registry. This survey is…

The sex offender registry failed them: Students abused by school counselors despite tool.

According to the American School Counselor Association, “School counselors are a key link in the child abuse prevention network. School counselors are responsible for reporting suspected cases of child abuse or neglect to the proper authorities. School counselors must…

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Florida Action Committee

www.floridaactioncommittee.org

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