First Amendment attorney weighs in on new Florida law banning protests at homes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – People who protest in entrance of personal homes in Florida can face jail time and fines below a new invoice signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday.

The governor mentioned the invoice would stop protests in Florida like “those waged by abortion rights protesters in front of U.S. Supreme Court justices’ homes in Virginia.”

Beginning Oct. 1, protesting in entrance of personal residences will develop into a second-degree misdemeanor in Florida.

Under this invoice, this fashion of protesting will classify as “intentionally harassing or disturbing someone in their home.”

The new invoice is receiving pushback from opposing sides saying it violates free speech.

Attorney Edward Birk, who specializes in First Amendment law, mentioned that will not be true.

“Yes, it can be legal under the constitution. Each of us is entitled to be left alone in our homes and not subject to offensive speech or speech that we might find offensive,” Birk mentioned.

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Violators can face 60 days in jail and fines of as much as $500.

Protesters can solely be arrested after ignoring law enforcement’s orders to disperse.

Even protesting on a public sidewalk exterior a non-public residence might fall into this class.

“The idea here is that (if) somebody’s protesting on a sidewalk, downtown somewhere, if a passerby finds that speech to be offensive, they can just keep walking and not pay attention to it. But here, the person who the speech is directed to — the resident of a home — is more or less captive and shouldn’t have to flee their home to avoid offensive speech,” Birk mentioned.

In an e-mail to news businesses, DeSantis referred to abortion rights demonstrators who protested exterior of Supreme Court justices’ homes in Virginia as an “unruly mob.”

“Sending unruly mobs to private residences, like we have seen with the angry crowds in front of the homes of Supreme Court justices, is inappropriate. This bill will provide protection to those living in residential communities and I am glad to sign it into law,” DeSantis mentioned.

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News4JAX reached out to Women’s March Jacksonville, an abortion rights group about their take on the invoice.

“Where do you draw that line? If this is a fundamental American right and we start to strip away pieces of it…that’s a very slippery slope,” mentioned Dana Holland, Vice President of Women’s March Jacksonville.

We’ve additionally reached out to Jacksonville For Life an anti-abortion group. The group didn’t reply.

Birk mentioned he expects lawsuits to problem the invoice. He mentioned the 2 methods will probably be challenged will likely be based mostly on how the statute is written and the way it’s utilized and enforced.