IMPORTANT: NEW PHONE NUMBER FOR MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP CALL EFFECTIVE 8/2/2018 – SEE BELOW.
Dear Members and Advocates,
A little known US Supreme Court case that was decided earlier this summer can provide useful nuggets of value in an upcoming appeal concerning the First Amendment rights of a fellow sex offender law reform advocate.
More than a decade ago, an outspoken and somewhat eccentric individual by the name of Fane Lozman decided to stand up, show up and speak out in order to keep his home. Mr. Lozman was peacefully living on a houseboat in a Riviera Beach, Florida Marina. Developers had made a deal with the City to re-develop part of the waterfront land in Riviera Beach and in order to do this, the city planned to use its eminent domain power to get rid of the houseboats to make way for the development.
Not wanting to lose his home and peaceful lifestyle, Mr. Lozman showed up to meetings wherever the development was discussed and voiced his opposition. He also filed a lawsuit to block the City from executing its plan to take away his home. The Courts ultimately agreed with him and his lawsuit was successful, but along the way, Mr. Lozman discovered how corrupt local officials were, some of which were even criminally charged for their corruption!
What happened next is what the Supreme Court of the United States would 12 years later find violated his First Amendment rights. You can see it for yourself here: https://youtu.be/8Dqpvh6_z0g. Not one minute after he stands up to make peaceful public comment on an issue the public in Riviera Beach should be aware of, he is arrested. The video speaks for itself, but unfortunately it would take a dozen years for the SCOTUS to speak for Mr. Lozman!
The significance of this case as it applies to our cause should slowly come to you now… In an effort to censor and suppress the speech of a member of the public whose point of view differs from and potentially disrupts the political agenda of a politician with a self-serving financial interest, the politician seeks to have the speaker arrested. Sound familiar?
Currently, Derek Logue is appealing the restraining order obtained against him by Senator Lauren Book. Although the content of the speech is completely different, the tactics are similar. They are also similar to the tactics private prison company, GEO Group, are using to intimidate The Dream Defenders, a Florida civil rights group, who is protesting the use of for-profit prisons. Notably, GEO Group’s lobbyist is Lauren’s father, Ron Book.
To paraphrase an excerpt from the Lozman decision, ‘the right to petition is one of the most precious of the liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights’. The fact that a politician or politically connected entity can use intimidation tactics to suppress the First Amendment rights of an individual should scare everyone – regardless of whether you agree with the speaker’s underlying message or not!
Fane Lozman’s victory was not only a personal one, but a victory for all the “Davids” out there willing to stand up for themselves in the face of the “Goliaths” who are trying to oppress them. It took more than a dozen years, a very public arrest and two trips to the US Supreme Court, but Fane Lozman is hopefully kicking back on his houseboat enjoying life. Kudos!
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
County Files Motion for Summary Judgment in Miami-Dade SORR Case
Last week, Miami-Dade County filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in Does v. Miami-Dade, a challenge to the Sex Offender Residency Restrictions that have caused the notorious encampments of homeless sex offenders. A Motion for Summary Judgment, in lay terms, is a…
Canada Reluctant to Extradite US Sex Offenders.
In several cases, the Canadian Government has been reluctant to extradite individuals who flee persecution in the United States when facing punishment for sex offenses. It’s not that the Canadians are more tolerant of sex crimes, they are absolutely not! It’s that…
Member Submission: Scams continue to target registrants
This email was submitted by a member. If readers can help encourage the Lee County Sheriff’s office to take this concern seriously and investigate the source, it would be appreciated. [M]y Det. called me back later and said they called the number that had called me,…
FAC Letter to South Florida Gay News
The Florida Action Committee has written a letter to the South Florida Gay News, a local publication servicing the LGBT community. SFGN’s recent coverage of The Pride Center’s employment of Clarence Collins, a person required to register as a sex offender, is shameful…
The video of the “open” forum is rather bias towards the blacks/African Americans than whites! This committee is sad and is led by two black/African American women – which further lends itself to being bias. When no one (regardless of race, color or creed) is not permitted to speak in a country founded on free speech, then the truth will never be told and a complete one sided bias will control the entire process. When discussing the issue of Sex Offenders no one wants to hear the truth, nor that there are better solutions to protecting the community than a registry that allows vigialanties the opportunity to strike. Allowing a false sense of safety only breeds further oportunity for those who’ve not been caught to continue in their ways. Let’s be fair and open minded to ALL people’s opinion, not to those we deem worthy, because you never know who’ll come up with a better, more viable solution to this problem. Thank you and God bless …..