Senator Lauren Book – Bills to watch out for and oppose.
Lauren Book, Daughter of Lobbyist Ron Book, Founder of ‘Lauren’s Kids’ one of the State’s highest funded charities, advocate for punitive sex offender registration laws and State Senator, has sponsored some bills that will be on our radar and we will be opposing this legislative session.
| SB 1214 | Creates a Rebittable presumption of dangerousness to a child if a parent has a CP Conviction in their history. |
| Increases the Penalties for CP offenses | |
| SB 1226 | Sets Mandatory minimum terms of supervision for registration violations and includes electronic monitoring |
| Reduces the period of time before one must register a permanent or temporary residence from 5 to 3. | |
| SB 1502 | Establishes a 10 year mandatory minimum for crimes which are considered “Human Trafficking” |
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I mean this with all the disrespect in the world…..F**k you Lauren Book and your rich ass entitled father . The both of you have done nothing but abuse your power, money, and influence to bring misery to the lives of 900,000 of your fellow citizens. [REDACTED BY EDITOR]. With that kind of money and power, none of us stand a chance except to get the hell out of Florida. That’s OK though. When I die and go to heaven, I’ll have the pleasure of looking down and seeing her and her daddy rotting in the lowest level of hell next to Judas and Hitler. What a b**ch.
So I’m wondering why the editor took out the part in my last post about MY OPINION of thinking that Lauren’s story about her abuse is FAKE and is just being used as a platform for her and Ron to make as much money and accumulate as much power as possible?? What about all the talk on here about our 1st amendment rights to be able to anonymously post and not have to register every internet identifier based on that argument?? Seems pretty hypocritical if you ask me…….POST MY OPINION ON HERE PLEASE….THANK YOU.
Because our organization does not condone victim blaming and stands against sexual violence. What happened to Lauren Book was tragic. Her nanny was tried and convicted.
Unless you have first-hand knowledge of what happened or are privy to information nobody else has about the case, statements claiming she’s made it up are insensitive and will only serve to incite.
While we may believe that the Book’s policies are counter-productive or that they are exploiting her personal tragedy for profit, we would never claim (or permit the perpetuation of unfounded statements) that her abuse claims are fake.
With respect to anonymous speech and registration of internet identifiers, your comments have always been made anonymously and we could care less if you registered your identifiers. Our site is moderated to ensure the comments are appropriate, non-abusive and meet our member code of conduct. When we find a comment is offensive, insensitive, abusive or otherwise inappropriate, we either delete it or redact the objectionable comment.
For purposes of this discussion, we did not redact your latest post, so YOUR OPINION is out there and so is FAC’s POSITION on your opinion.
While you are right that Waldina Flores was convicted, she was never tried. In 2002 she was sentenced in Miami to 15 years in prison, according to an article published in the Sun Sentinel that is still online. That conviction was part of a plea deal with the state.
There was never a trial so none of what Lauren Book or her father has claimed has ever been held to scrutiny under oath. There are only 2 people who know the truth, one is in prison still as DOC lists her sentence at 25 years instead of 15, and the other had built a media campaign which got her elected to the Florida Senate, although she did run unopposed.
I’m not going to link the Sun Sentinel article from 2002, it’s easy enough to find on Google. I would invite anyone curious to not only read that article but also look at the reviews on Amazon for Ms. Books memoir, specifically ones that are critical of the book and not just gushing praise. .
I only hope someone in Tallahassee grows a spine and opposes these ridiculous bills. Do we know of any lawmakers up there that might or are they all afraid to admit that these bills are added punishment and unconstitutional
No. It’s never going to happen. Oppose a bill that claims to “keep kids safe from SO’s”?? That’s political suicide. Plus, the Book’s have so many people in their back pocket with funding and such, none of us stand a chance. Hard to believe that 2 people like this can’t be brought down, but unless someone on our side can get some of these greedy-ass scuzzy lawyers who actually care about constitutional rights and the welfare of people rather than their own personal Ferrari convertibles and bank accounts to step up and fight for us, truly, how are we gonna compete against this and bring it down in Florida? To me, the fight just ain’t worth it. It’s going to eventually get to the point where all of us get sick enough of it and will be fearless enough to just flat out rebel and revolt against the system and say the hell with you, I’m not following that stupid law or restriction. Just come lock me up you POS. But none of us as a group are willing to do that, so hence, nothing will change. Until someone puts some REAL pressure on Lauren and her POS father, things will only get worse in Florida. It’s all about money people. From the sting operations, to putting as many people as possible in Florida prisons, to probation costs and ankle monitor fees, and polygraphs, and therapy costs, lawyers, to lobbyists getting paid to get more laws passed. When will you all realize this?? WHEN WILL YOU PEOPLE AND YOUR FAMILIES GET SICK AND TIRED ENOUGH OF ALL THIS AND FIGHT BACK AND SPEAK UP??!!
Question,,, On some of the items in these bills, wouldn’t ex post facto come into play . These are not registry items they are statutes, bills of law.. and by law you can’t punish people after the fact?
According the the US Supreme Court in Smith v. Doe the registry is not punishment. That’s the whole point of our Ex Post Facto lawsuit
But what about the decisions esewhere that it indeed is ex post facto? Is the ex post facto the fight we need to focus on here in florida? Then theres some headway into the other issues? Do we need funding and how much? If this is a fight worth it maybe its the one im looking for….
It has been ruled unconstitutional elsewhere. Which is why we are initiating our own Ex Post Facto challenge here.
Im assuming its the same constitution so jow can it not be universal?
Would be also nice if we can get the Federal ruling from Colorado that ruled the registry unconstitutional and punishment. That was an ” as applied ” to defendant ruling. Not sure if there is any registrant{s} here in Florida (I’m sure there has to be) that would be a good example{s} as to how the registry has hindered his/her life with employment,housing, etc. etc. and all of it in post sentence.
I have been keeping tabs on the stories going on around the country concerning these laws and I absolutely agree that the registry is by far cruel and unusual punishment and not only has it hindered my son from getting a job, living in a safe place with my brother (who is the only relative down in Florida that we have to help him), but it has hindered my son from being able to move back to Ohio and living with his family who just want him to come home. We tried to get a transfer back to Ohio and the only place he could go would be my parents cause the state of Ohio will not let him live with us because our granddaughter lives with us. My parents apparently live within a 1,000 feet of an in-home daycare and that put the brakes on his transfer. In the meantime our son had to live with a complete stranger who did nothing but extort money from us for the last 3 months because the apartment that my brother had been living in threatened to evict the both of them if my son did not move out. My son had a hard time finding work and we have tapped out all of our resources into paying fees, counseling visits, polygraph test, court fees, etc. Not only does this registry interfere with my son’s rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness but it interferes with our family’s rights to the same thing. I feel as though we are being punished because every day we grieve over the loss of our son from our family and every day I wonder if I am ever going to be able to have my son home again. He is my only son and he has a twin sister, who deeply misses him as well as 2 other sisters, a niece and nephew, grandparents, etc. that just want him home. As a mom I want nothing more than to fight for my son and to end this ridiculousness. I would give anything to sit in a room with Mr. Ron Book and his daughter and tell them to “walk in my shoes” and let them see what they are doing isn’t just to sex offenders but it is to their families and if the state of Florida keeps going the way they are going with these illegal sting operations the whole state of Florida is going to be affected by the registry and then what do we have…..
Are you saying we are going to file an ex post facto law suit or have we done so already. Reguardless, can we contribute to it specifically. I have in the past but I thought it was a dead issue as no one gave us a case file to follow.
Yes, we are filing – see our post from last month where we consummated our formal retainer.
I’m sure you’re aware, but check out Doe v. Snyder; held that the registry is punishment. SCOTUS denied cert last October, I think.
Keep into perspective when SCOUS review the registry issue in 2004, that was no in person requirement, no residency restrictions and the ability to petition for removal if after 10 years you had no other felony/misdemeanor charges.
Of course. We understand that. Every couple years the requirements become more onerous and punitive.
On SB1226, someone might tip off the deputy’s at JSO who were off from the 22nd to the 27th for Christmas. No holiday at home if registrants have to come in after 3 days. Not to mention any other long holiday weekends…
They won’t care whether it is 5 days or 3 days. I have personally seen deputies turn registrants away telling them they only register people on a certain day and time and they have to wait till then. When it was pointed out that waiting till then would put the registrant in violation, they responded that they will indeed arrest the registrant for failure to register and it was on the registrant to plan all their moves, etc. so as to coincide with times they felt like registering people even if the registrant is from out of the area and has no way to know when they choose to register them. One station even refused to register someone because he would be moving on in a day or two and they didn’t want to be bothered even if it would violate the registration period. Police themselves fail to follow registration laws all the time.
Thank you FAC for the response. I am putting this together today for our calls and letter writing. Also, thanks to Dustin in Georgia for offering to help out.
In recent days the news has commented on how the opiod addition problem is stressing the foster care system. I would like for Senator Book to address this issue as it relates to a CP conviction and her evidence that these folks are also a danger to their own children. So far I have seen no evidence of endangerment but certainly we can see it with drug addicted parents. This ridiculous punitive Bill cannot hold any water. The sad part about it is how vindictive this Bill is and how someone could think they are helping children by removing them from the home with no evidence of abuse. Many bad things have happened in Foster care and certainly putting children in an already stressed system under the guise of helping them is in no way substantiated.
I actually thought about that last night. The presumption of dangerousness based on CP (the definition of which changes frequently and to ludicrous degrees) If the opposconvictions will inevitably expand to all sex offenses, and eventually phase out convictions and require only an accusation, as accusations equating convictions are becoming the same thing. That will inevitably lead to the entry of SOs’ children into the loving graces of the state foster care system. Don’t know how much of Florida’s prison population is composed of former foster children, but willing to bet the number is significant, if not large.
Statutory presumptions are based on longstanding, supported historical fact. For example, in law, if one party makes a claim, but the only evidence to prove or disprove the claim is entirely within the control of the opposition party, the burden of proof shifts to the opposition. If the opposition doesn’t provide the evidence, the claim is considered true, the presumption being the hidden evidence validates it.
Here, the proposed statutory presumption goes against the longstanding presumption (statutory or not) that no parent would intentionally endanger their children. Many have been irresponsible or unable to prevent endangerment for a variety of reasons, but very few have deliberately intended to harm their children in any way. The state has to rebut the protective parent presumption in cases of historically violent and drug addicted parents, and rightfully so.
Why should CP – or any sex crime for that matter – be different? Especially considering there is no empirical evidence that CP viewers/users actually have deliberately endangered their own children in some way. I don’t know the number of those instances (presuming very, very low) but it’s certainly not enough to support the proposed statutory presumption. Even if passed, I would think it unlikely that it would survive in the courts for a host of reasons. But that would be a very long, time consuming effort. It would be much easier and better to prevent the law from passing in the first place.
None of the proposed laws have any basis in fact or do anything to protect children (may even endanger some, ironically enough). The abuse Lauren Book endured is unfortunate, but does not give the Books moral license to expand and torture a segment of society just because their bloodlust wasn’t satisfied by the conviction (and death?) of Lauren’s abuser, as they have gone on record time and again stating that making life a living hell for all sex offenders is their express intent. Factoring the inordinately low recidivism rate of RSOs, torturing them specifically doesn’t protect children.
Let’s be very clear: Lauren is a political hack who is working in conjunction with her father in trying to profit both financially and through abject power in controlling the lives, and deaths, of thousands of registrants. This is nothing more than politicians trying to create massive taxation hikes to fund their own pet projects by demonizing the rich to get the votes from the poor, and must be stopped at all costs.
I have read over SB 1214 and can honestly say I have found it impossible to understand enough to completely comment to anyone in writing or by phone. They ask why you oppose the bill and I don’t want to sound stupid so can someone tell me does this bill affect both pre and post conviction conditions and how does it make anything worse than it already is? I would like to become more active in this endeavor but need help understanding what and how to better understand what I can effectively do.
Donna – with specific respect to SB1214
There are a few very dangerous provisions in there that apply POST CONVICTION.
One is; a rebuttable presumption of dangerous to a child is to be presumed by the court when the parent has a history of certain offenses including child pornography. It does not have to be a current charge – it can be decades ago! So what can happen is; DCF can search for anyone with a CP conviction in their past who now has children and seek to remove them from their custody and and the courts are to presume that the parent presents a danger to their child.
For anyone with a CP offense in their history who is a parent, this is very scary, as their children can be taken away from them at any time.