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TALLAHASSEE State lawmakers are debating a new bill which would ban tethering dogs and cats and leaving them unsupervised.

If Senate Bill 650 were to become law, any Floridian caught leaving an animal tied up would get a warning, then a series of escalating fines: $250 for a second offense, and $500 for each offense after that.

At the Senate Agriculture Committee, the bills first stop on the way to becoming law, the measure found support among Democrats and Republicans and passed unanimously.

But one influential group voiced opposition: the National Rifle Association.

Tethering is a legitimate means of keeping your animals on your own property, the NRAs longtime lobbyist Marion Hammer wrote in an email. Many, many kinds of dogs are humanely tethered in the out-of-doors rather than being locked up in a cages.

The groups opposition came as a surprise. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to add a Republican-backed amendment onto the bill that would exempt hunting dogs from the ban. This exemption was thought by some animal rights advocates to be a major concern of the gun rights organization; the NRA counts thousands of hunters as members. But Hammer still eventually waived against the amended measure.

Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami said in an interview she was mystified by the NRA.

It makes no sense, Taddeo said. I did reach out to Marion Hammer and the NRA specifically prior (to the meeting)...They did not call back., Taddeo said.

Republicans on the committee were also surprised by Hammers move.

Ive never seen them focused on any policy that wasnt focused on Second Amendment rights or hunting, Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, said in an interview.

Perry, who offered the amendment exempting hunting dogs, said he was not in touch with the NRA about the bill.

Hammer wrote in an email that even the hunting dog exemption doesnt change the fact that its a bad bill.

Animal rights advocates say the tethering measure is necessary because many Floridians do not know how dangerous the practice is for an animals long term health. Tethering exposes pets to the elements outside; confinement is psychologically damaging and studies show it breeds aggression, they say.

This isnt necessarily a deliberate animal cruelty issue, said Nick Atwood, the campaigns coordinator at the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, which supports Taddeos bill. These pet owners, by and large, arent aware of the dangers theyre putting their pets into.

Several large counties already have ordinances prohibiting unattended pet tethering: Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Broward and Pinellas all ban the practice.

Taddeos proposal comes with several exemptions outside the hunting dog provision. For example, animals involved in agriculture or shepherding; animals receiving grooming or medical treatment and animals involved in law enforcement are exempt.

Perry said even if the bill is currently imperfect to some, he is encouraged by his colleagues willingness to come together to improve the measure.

Im sure well get something at the end of the day we can all live with, Perry said.

An identical measure in the House, HB 177, sponsored by Rep. Emily Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, has not yet been heard in a committee.

Read more from the original source:
Why is the NRA against a ban on dog tethering? - Tampa Bay Times

Pete Hegseth, the host of Fox and Friends, raised eyebrows over the weekend during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference when he suggested that when he sits down to talk with people, they talk about among other things their families, the First Amendment, the Second Amendment and the 10th amendment.

The assertion drew quite a bit of pushback on Twitter because while the first and second amendments are well known the 10th Amendment just doesnt get as much press.

Chances are, if you have landed on this article, you arent quite sure what the 10th Amendment is either, so lets dig in.

About Those Amendments: First, there is some significance to the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. These were the set of personal liberties and states rights that the original states required before they would sign on to forming a union and submitting to the Constitution. These 10 amendments specifically grant individual and states rights and limit the power of the federal government.

The 10th: The 10th Amendment despite its low profile is the quintessential Republican amendment. If you are a fan of small government or prefer state government to federal government, this amendment is the one you can always fall back on.

Below is the text of the 10th Amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The 10th Amendment means the federal government only has the powers it is granted in the Constitution. It cannot impose further powers or prohibitions on it than what is Constitutionally outlined. Any power not given to the federal government is reserved for the states or the people of the United States.

Are people talking about it?: While Hegseth was widely mocked on social media for saying people were discussing the 10th Amendment with him, chances are since he travels in Republican circles, they were. They just might not have been calling it the 10th Amendment.

If Hegseth was hearing form people concerned about government overreach and states rights, then he was in fact talking to people about the 10th Amendment.

Read more here:
What exactly is the 10th Amendment? | National | northwestgeorgianews.com - Northwest Georgia News

In case you were ever worried about the GOP-dominated state government of Tennessee not having the best interests of its citizens at heart, you can relax. Our boys are on the case, battling against the vast, nefarious invasion of transgender young people into high school sports, standing firm against college basketballers who kneel for the National Anthem, and, of course, battling for the right of every Tennessean to pack a gun pretty much anywhere.

Legislators are also planning to tackle the vital issue of East Tennessee State's men's basketball team kneeling for the National Anthem on state property. Look for some overtly unconstitutional legislative foofawfery soon. Never mind that the First Amendment right to protest and free speech is every bit as sacred and protected as, well, the Second Amendment "right" to openly carry a gun into Costco.

Speaking of ... If any of these guys ever has the nerve to say "Blue Lives Matter" again, they should be, well, arrested. Open carry laws are opposed by almost every major law-enforcement organization, by district attorneys groups, and by around 80 percent of American voters in recent polls. But Governor Bill Lee and his yahoo posse are more interested in pleasing the NRA and the 20 percent of the population that thinks gun regulations are a violation of the Second Amendment, even though most of them couldn't spell "amendment" if you spotted them the vowels.

Then there was the egregious piling on by several Republicans of the Shelby County Health Department in the wake of the discovery of 2,400 expired or wasted COVID vaccine doses.

Eighth District Congressman David Kustoff, for example, was shocked and outraged and demanded an investigation into this chicanery. This is the same buffoon who backed Donald Trump's ignorant and deadly approach to the pandemic for 11 months and who appeared, sans mask, slavishly praising Fearless Leader at rallies. He also voted to overturn the results of a free election after a mob violently demanding the same thing trashed the capitol building where he works, but yes, do demand an investigation into those who are trying, however imperfectly, to save people's lives.

Lee also weighed in with his concerns, as did several other Republicans. Where was this concern when much smaller (and whiter) Knox County "lost" more than 1,000 doses earlier in February?

Look, there is no denying that Shelby County screwed up some aspects of the vaccine roll-out, but let's not lose sight of the fact that this scenario is being replicated all over the country.

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told NBC News earlier this month: "This kind of thing [having to throw away] vaccines is pretty rampant. I have personally heard stories like this from dozens of physician friends in a variety of different states. Hundreds, if not thousands, of doses are getting tossed across the country every day. It's unbelievable."

COVID-19 vaccines have a short shelf life once they are thawed out for use, Jha said. And because of federal and state mandates, many hospitals and other healthcare providers would rather risk a dose going bad than give it to somebody who isn't scheduled to get a shot.

So yeah, we've had some issues with vaccine distribution, but so have a lot of places. More than 120,000 people have been vaccinated in Shelby County, so it's not all bad. It's fair to point out mistakes, but let's keep the performative politics out of it.

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The Yahoo Posse | Letter From The Editor | Memphis News and Events - Memphis Flyer

State lawmakers this week began what appears to be extended floor debates and votes ahead of the next cut-off deadline for legislative action this session. March 9th is the last day for bills to pass out of their house of origin, except for budget related measures. This years 105-day legislative session is scheduled to end on April 25, 2021.

Most bills scheduled for action by the full House and Senate during the early part of the session were not controversial and passed with bipartisan majorities. A number of issues, however, drew extended debate during lengthy floor sessions in both chambers this week, passing by narrow vote margins along mostly partisan lines.

A bill to exempt certain election security information from public records disclosures, HB 1068, passed the House on Wednesday by a 61-37 vote. The bill would keep some election security information from public records disclosure, by exempting information, such as continuity of operations plans for elections and security audits, from the states Public Records Act.

According to the bills sponsor, Rep. Laurie Dolan (D-Olympia), election security information and contingency plans should not be available to people who might want to harm elections. We need to secure our elections from bad actors in order to have trustworthy results, she said.

Opponents of the bill said they were concerned about exempting important election security information from public disclosure. Rep. Vicki Kraft (R-Vancouver) said, with this bill, the state is moving away from transparency and the public wont have as much trust in its government.

Other Republicans agreed, including Rep. Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen), who said that this bill offers a false sense of security, which can be the biggest risk of all.

The bill was sent to the Senate State Government and Elections Committee for further consideration.

Late Thursday evening, the Senate passed SB 5038, to ban open-carry of weapons within 250 feet of permitted public demonstrations and at the state capitol. Current Washington law affirms citizen rights under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to openly carry firearms, except in certain locations such as courthouses and jails.

During the lengthy floor debate on the bill, Democrats said the bill would not infringe on those rights, because it only adds the Capitol to the list of places where open-carry of firearms is prohibited.

The bills sponsor, Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue) said What you need when you come to the Capitol is your voice. What you dont need is a weapon.

Republicans, on the other hand, argued that it would take away legal gun owners ability to protect themselves if they feel unsafe at or near a public demonstration. You become the criminal because you know how to protect yourself, said Sen. Shelly Short (R-Addy). Some lawmakers also had concerns that the language in the bill was too vague.

The bill passed by a mostly partisan 28-20 vote. All Republicans present and one Democrat, Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-Mason County) voted against the bill. Sen. Ericksen (R-Ferndale) was excused.

The bill is now headed to the House for further consideration.

WashingtonVotes.org is a free service provided by Washington Policy Center and is the go-to tracking tool to keep up with all the action in Olympia, especially during this mostly virtual session. Please check in often and follow us on Facebook and Twitter at #waleg.

Excerpt from:
Bills on election security and second amendment rights garner extended debate in lengthy floor sessions this week - Washington Policy

Gary Beatty, Guest columnist Published 7:01 a.m. ET March 2, 2021

Public discourse illustrates that our school system is failing to properly educate future citizens about their fundamental constitutional rights under both the United States'and Florida constitutions.Simply reading the words of either document, without understanding their philosophical underpinnings, tells you nothing of what they actually mean.

To correctly understand either constitution requires at least a basic knowledge of natural law and of the spirit of the law.American constitutions incorporate both (as espoused by Englishman John Locke and Frenchman Baron de Montesquieu) to create the structure of government, and enshrine the rights of citizens.

Debates about two divisive topics, firearms and abortion, illustrate general lack of awareness of these principles. An example of the latter was the recent FLORIDA TODAY letter writer who referred to the well regulated militia language of the Second Amendmentas somehow limiting the right of individual ownership of firearms.

The Department of Defense observes Constitution Day and Citizenship Day Sept. 17 to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on that day in 1787.(Photo: U.S. Air Force illustration/James Borland)

In brief, here are the natural law fundamentals that pertain to the individual ownership of firearms:

* An inalienable right of self-defense against individuals, and government.

* Inalienable means the right cannot be infringed by the government.

* The words well regulated militia mean nothing outside their historical context.

* Individual states can afford their citizens expanded rights beyond the federal constitution.

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly made it clear the historic natural law context of the well regulated militia language in the Second Amendment places no limitation on the right of individuals to own firearms. Then there is also the right to bear arms under the Florida Constitution.

Since the founding of this nation, the protections of the Bill of Rights to the federal Constitution have been merely the baseline.The states can provide their citizens with more extensive rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed that is a core principle of our federal system.

An example is Article 1, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution. It guarantees the right of Floridians to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves without any reference to a well regulated militia. So that language in the Second Amendment is irrelevant to the right of Florida citizens.

The only limitation on the Florida right is that the manner of bearing arms may be regulated by law. This means the Legislature can enact reasonable restrictions on where and how firearms can be carried, but (except for felons) it cant infringe the right of private ownership.

So the Second Amendment, and the well regulated militia language, are superfluous to the right of Floridians to keep and bear arms. I have not encountered a Florida high-school grad who knows that.

If our public schools were properly teaching about both the federal and Florida constitutions, this would be common knowledge among high-school students. The fact it is not is proof positive the schools are failing in their responsibility to educate kids about their fundamental constitutional rights.

Another example of that failure is that a right to abortion exists under the Florida Constitution regardless of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. So the right to an abortion would continue in Florida even if Roe were overturned.Florida politicians who create a false political issue about the need to uphold Roe to protect the right of Florida women to get abortions are exploiting the failure of our schools to educate voters.

Why is at least a basic awareness of our rights under the Florida Constitution is not required to graduate from high school in Florida? For that matter, how many public school teachers themselveshave even that basic knowledge? None Ive talked to.Isnt educating the citizenry the whole rationale of expending taxes on public schools?

Gary Beatty(Photo: FLORIDA TODAY files)

I dont expect every voter to have my level of understanding of constitutions.But Im talking about the basics. Having spoken at high schools I know those basics are not being taught.Many students were not even aware Florida had a constitution separate from the United States.Some teachers did not know Florida has a separate Bill of Rights. At the very least, students should be told about their rights. And that means all of their rights. Not just the ones preferred by a progressive political ideology which apparently does not include free speech, and damn sure not the right to private ownership of firearms.

The Declaration of Independence declares that our rights originate from natural law, not from written constitutions, or governments.

Both of those exist to protect our rights.

Thats what should be being taught to our kids.

Gary Beatty lives in Sharpes andis retired from 30 years as an assistant state attorney in Brevard County. He has a doctorate in law andiscertified in criminal trial law by the Florida Bar.

Read or Share this story: https://www.floridatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/03/02/citizens-must-taught-their-constitutional-rights-opinion/6869483002/

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The meaning behind the words: We must educate citizens on their constitutional rights - Florida Today