Did You Ever Hear Of A Thing Called The First Amendment?

Well evidently the governor of Florida hasn’t.

DeSantis administration threatens local TV station for airing abortion rights campaign ads

Florida governor accused of trying to punish local TV stations airing ads that support Amendment 4

Independent

By Rhian Lubin

October 7, 2024

Ron DeSantis’s administration has appeared to threaten a local TV station with legal action for airing an abortion rights campaign ad.

The ad in question is the same one that aired in Florida during the vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance. It features a woman named Caroline who needed to have an abortion and cancer treatments after a brain tumor diagnosis in 2022.

Such a difficult situation would have been complicated by Florida’s six-week abortion ban today.

Meanwhile the state is pushing its own “misinformation” and a judge has ruled that it okay according to Miami Herald,

Saying courts “must trust the people to decide what information is important to them,” a Leon County circuit judge Monday refused to issue a temporary injunction to block the state Agency for Health Administration from disseminating what critics call “misinformation” about a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights. Judge Jonathan Sjostrom rejected arguments by Floridians Protecting Freedom, a political committee sponsoring the proposed amendment, and wrote that the case is “not justiciable by courts because political power is reserved to the people in an election by means of each ballot.”

[…]

Floridians Protecting Freedom filed a lawsuit Sept. 12 and sought a temporary injunction after the Agency for Health Care Administration began using a website and ads to disseminate information about the proposed amendment. The proposal will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 4 and would enshrine abortion rights in the Constitution.

In another lawsuit against the state, this time about using public funding against the abortion ballot amendment.

Florida Health Care Agency To Be Sued Over Abortion TV Ad

Newsweek

By Maya Mehrara

September 18, 2024

Florida's ACLU announced it is preparing to sue the state Agency for Health Care Administration, accusing it of misusing public funds to influence voters on abortion, according to ABC Action News.

The Florida branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)'s legal team discussed the upcoming lawsuit in a virtual press conference on September 11. The suit relates to a TV advertisement that redirects viewers to a website with further information on abortion access.

The website reportedly featured arguments against Amendment Four, a ballot initiative that would limit government interference with abortion law, positing that it "threatens women's safety."

Florida ACLU Attorney Michelle Morton said, "This website is filled with demonstrably false statements. So we're challenging the misuse of taxpayer dollars to lie to voters about this amendment," according to ABC Action News.

"This is not what government is supposed to be," said Morton. "That's not what government is supposed to do. This is not normal."

But hey, this is Florida! The Republicans do what every they please.

Vote on the Democrat, vote yes on the ballot question about mail-in ballots.

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Update: 10/9 @ 6:00PM

FCC rebukes DeSantis admin for threat against TV stations airing abortion measure ad

The Florida Health Department threatened legal action against local stations if they run an ad promoting a pro-abortion ballot measure.

MSNBC

Oct. 9, 2024

By Ja'han Jones

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is condemning Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration for its latest attack on the First Amendment after the state Health Department sent letters threatening local TV stations with legal action if they continue to air an ad supporting Amendment 4, a statewide referendum on abortion rights.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday responded to those reports with an official statement: 

The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment. Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.

The DeSantis administration claims the ad, which features a woman with terminal brain cancer discussing Florida’s controversial six-week abortion ban, lies about what the law does. In a letter to a local NBC station, for example, the general counsel for the Health Department claims the ad violates statutes around causing a “sanitary nuisance.” Watch the ad here:

Lawyers for the organization behind the ad responded with a rebuttal letter to local news stations that offers a detailed breakdown in its defense, in which they argue the DeSantis administration’s pressure campaign “is a flagrant abuse of power and must be rejected.”

Now it appears they have the FCC on their side.

Somehow, I don't believe the state.