Dear Members and Advocates,

Each year I struggle to formulate a positive Thanksgiving message. While some of us might look forward to a festive holiday meal with family and friends, we can’t stop thinking about those of us who cannot. Some of us will be alone, under a bridge or otherwise isolated. It’s very hard to celebrate a day of thanksgiving while some amongst us are suffering.

I reached out to our President, Gail, who told me about some of the things she is thankful for. She said, “I’m thankful for all who are so committed to this struggle and righting the ship. Without whom things would be much worse! I am thankful for all the families who hang in with their loved ones who are required to register, even though it puts such a strain on the family. I’m thankful that even in a very small way, I’m able to represent these folks who have been through the ringer and are still standing.” It reminded me that even for those of us who have the least to be thankful for, we have our FAC family who will not stop fighting for us.

As I look back on past years’ Thanksgiving messages, I realize that we do have some tangible accomplishments to be thankful for. A victory in a Ft. Lauderdale residency restriction case this past March (thankful for attorney Val Jonas for that one), finally having our day in court in the Miami-Dade SORR challenge, the filing of our Ex Post Facto challenge, some shifting public sentiment in the media and all of the new members we have added to our family over the past year.

So while Thanksgiving these years might not be the happy, festive time that it had been in the past, it’s still an opportunity to remind ourselves of the strides we have made over the course of the last year and that’s certainly something to be thankful for!

Some new developments to report this week; the Duval (Jacksonville) Sheriff’s department has responded to our letter indicating their sign (see: Is your local Sheriff making up their own rules) will be removed or replaced. In the SORR case, the government has asked for another extension and now the parties have until December 3rd to file their Post-Trial Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. In our Ex Post Facto case, the government’s extension of time to file an answer/reply expires tomorrow, so we anticipate their responsive pleading imminently. Please keep monitoring our website for updates on these cases.

Also, new is a vanity toll-free telephone number (1-833-2-REPEAL) that will be our new Florida Action Committee telephone number! Hopefully this number will be easier to remember and share with others interested in joining our fight.

Thanks to all of you who have supported our organization this past year and enabled FAC to achieve all we have this past year. Let’s make sure we have even more to be thankful for next Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

The Florida Action Committee


Reminder:  December 6th membership call topic is “Probation Standards versus Grievances”.  Send your questions to [email protected] .


SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK

 

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