For the last eight years, pedestrians crossing Esther Street in Orlando, Florida would step across a rainbow crosswalk, a memorial to the 49 people who lost their lives in the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay night club in the city. At the time, Pulse was the deadliest shooting in American history, a brutal […]
Tag: Florida
The Bipartisan Fight for Property Rights
When Patti Peeples approached her investment property home in Jacksonville, Florida which she was preparing to put on the market, one would expect her to find an barren, yet pristinely clean home. Except that is not what Ms. Peeples uncovered when she approached the front door of her rental home. Instead, she came to her property to find changed locks, $40,000 worth of damage, and a pair of squatters declaring they were the rightful tenants of the home.
The Case Against DeSantis
Presidential hopeful and current Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made waves in the past few years and is working hard to make his name known. He is adored by most Floridians and those on the right for his COVID-19 response and his Trumpist policies. Despite campaign ads and comments of his that have worked hard […]
For someone who possibly had one of the easiest paths to the presidency set up for him, Ron DeSantis is doing all the things he needed to do right, wrong.
Traditional conservative voters wanted to be excited about Ron DeSantis. Independents and fed-up Democrats wanted him to be tolerable. His recent tack to the hard right is pushing these crucial voters away. With about half the country identifying as Independent voters, the path to victory for any major candidate in a general election must involve […]
How the Government Started a Race War with Guns
Gun reform—suddenly the contention is palpable and explosive. The current hyperfocus is wholly attributable to the courageous and unyielding student survivors turned activists who survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting. For those of us with a modicum of melanin in our skin, however, gun violence and the resultant fight to mitigate it […]
Florida’s Sand: Gone with the Wind
If You Can’t Keep Your Own Sand, Store-Bought is Fine Florida, the Sunshine State. The land of white, sandy world-renowned beaches. The beauty of Florida’s beaches has been commemorated since the first Spanish colonial settlement in 1565 to the 21st century, with popular beaches like Daytona and Miami a feature in movies, TV shows, and […]
Separation of Church and State?: What the First Amendment Really Meant
Ronald Reagan, known for his one-liners, often joked that “as long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public schools.” Though intended as a humorous aphorism, the debate over the role of religion in public schools has persisted over the decades. “Separation of church and state.” It is a mantra every American has […]