At the end of every week, we praise a political playmaker, “swipe left” on the week’s biggest political loser, and explain what it all means for Florida’s political arena.
CHAMP: Florida Supreme Court
Champ of the Week
Following a productive week where Governor Ron DeSantis continued to reshape the state’s highest court into a conservative stronghold, the Florida Supreme Court dealt those seeking to uphold the rule of law another victory after they protected the Second Amendment last week.
This past Thursday, the court ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to ban possession of assault-style weapons did not meet requirements to go before voters.
Florida Supreme Court Quashes Amendment That Would Outlaw ‘Assault Weapons’ https://t.co/rOBiBaNClE
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 5, 2020
With a 4-1 ruling, the court blocked a ban on assault weapons from going to voters in 2022, saying that the ballot summary was misleading because it didn’t clearly state that a grandfathering clause applies to the owner, and not the gun.
The court majority made up of Chief Justice Charles Canady and justices Carlos Muniz, Alan Lawson and Ricky Polston, ruled that voters would be deceived because the initiative wouldn’t have protected the person who lawfully owns the weapon.
“While the ballot summary purports to exempt registered assault weapons lawfully possessed prior to the Initiative’s effective date, the Initiative does not categorically exempt the assault weapon, only the current owner’s possession of that assault weapon. The ballot summary is therefore affirmatively misleading,” the court wrote in its opinion.
The constitutional amendment, sponsored by Ban Assault Weapons Now, proposed the initiative after the 2018 shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
CHUMP: U.S. Representative Val Demings
Chump of the Week
With feelings overtaking facts and racial tension reaching a boiling point across the U.S., the acting Department of Homeland Security pushed back against the narrative perpetuated by the media that the majority of police officers are part of a “shadowy organization” that is targeting minorities at an astronomical rate.
Now Democrats are now openly pushing to “defund the police.” Val Demings, in the spotlight as a potential running mate for Joe Biden, had the chance to distinguish herself as a voice of reason, but she chose instead to toe the Democrat party line.
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, DHS Secretary Chad Wolf stated that systemic racism hasn’t infested law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
“I do not think that we have a systemic racism problem with law enforcement officers across this country,” Wolf said.
“Do I acknowledge that there are some law enforcement officers that abuse their job? Yes. And again, we need to hold those accountable,” Wolf told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz, before stating that “painting law enforcement with a broad brush of systemic racism is really a disservice” to those in law enforcement who conduct their jobs with dignity and pride.
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf says DHS and law enforcement “will continue to monitor” D.C. protests.
“What we saw over the past week is really a city out of control, and I’m happy to say that over the last several days we’re seen that violence decrease.” https://t.co/vbxy62sQLw pic.twitter.com/LDq1ynmt0d
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 7, 2020
His comments, which are backed up by variable data.
Then came Val Demings in a follow-up interview:
“Look, if we’re going to solve some of America’s toughest problems we’ve got to be painfully honest about what those problems are,” the Orlando official said. “And we know that we have been fighting systemic racism in this country for 400 years.”
“We know that it has … reared its ugly head in law enforcement agencies, and housing, and education, and many other places,” she continued. “And so while I heard what the secretary said, we have a lot of work to do, and systemic racism is always the ghost in the room.”
JUST IN: Rep. Val Demings, a former police chief, responds to claim by acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf that there’s no “systemic racism” in policing: “We know that we have been fighting systemic racism in this country for 400 years.” https://t.co/upDZ0WZ2lY pic.twitter.com/E53dIDwOOh
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 7, 2020
While Demings’ opinion is shared by many across the nation, her timing could not have come at a worse time.
Demings, a former chief of the Orlando Police Department, has been making waves in the political arena — with many expecting her to be the potential running mate for Joe Biden‘s presidential campaign.
Uh huh
I think Representative Demings stated the problem is in America is systematic racism. She stated clearly and concisely! No spin and no party line, just a fact and the truth. DHS Chief Wolf is part of the problem with his head in the sand, especially if he believes that racism is not in law enforcement. I guess millions are marching because they are just tired of Covid Cabin-fever?