Tuesday Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proved he’s not the Governor to mess with; he began issuing fines for counties violating FL law. In this case, Leon County was fined $35. Million for their mask and vaccine mandates. In two Tweets Governor DeSantis backed up this decision. “No one should lose their job because of COVID shots.@HealthyFla fined Leon County more than $3.5 million for violating Florida law after the county fired 14 employees for not complying with the county’s forced vaccination policy…We must protect the jobs of Floridians and preserve the ability of Floridians to make their own decisions regarding what shots to take.”.
This stance is in stark contrast to the actions of many Governors across the Nation. The only exception would be Governor Abbot of Texas (also a Republican). We have watched this pandemic spread across the Nation, and witnessed the results of both panic and inaction; neither of which ended well. These actions add another layer of scale to the term ‘Florida Man’. These men and women are just built differently, and it shows.
Back when this first hit, Governor DeSantis took small steps to make changes and to keep people safe. He instead followed the Presidential stance and allowed counties and cities to make their own rules, as they best knew what the people of their area would need. Given the very nature of the population of Florida, this is just good governance.
For those unaware, Florida is a state with various decrees of people. As the old saying goes “The further South in FL you go, the more Northern you become.” This is a shine to the diversity of the state in its people and its values. By allowing local Government the autonomy to decide, it allowed FL to see more of the curve that everyone wanted to see.
However, after some time, people became drunk with power. Instead of relying on science, intelligence, and common sense, some decided fear was the better thing to listen to. They attempted to place absurd restrictions on their people. Requiring masks, proof of vaccination, a clean COVID test, or some combination of these options. While many see this as science, the invasion into your medical records is putting people’s personal security at risk.
Nobody serving as a Governor knows the risks of personal information. Having served as a JAG officer, Gov DeSantis is all too familiar with keeping personal information secure. He has represented some of the Navy’s best and brightest. He has kept them safe from legal action and was a big influence on those under him. It is no wonder he can analyze and interpret civilian law so well. This unique gift is something Floridian businesses treasure.
Mind you some businesses are not obeying this decree and are still putting on their own restrictions. Places like the Straz Center in Tampa, Live Nation concert venues across the state, Starbucks across the state, and Disney Cruise lines. These are just a few of the over 110 separate businesses across the state in violation of his mandate. With these businesses identified, the question becomes what will he do now? The majority of this list are businesses aren’t small mom & pop businesses, but large corporations. Organizations that employ hundreds to tens of thousands of people. By taking them on, he could in effect put those people out of work if their leadership decides to shutter instead of doing things the mandated way. One thing is for sure, these are interesting times for the state of Florida, and the people love having a man like Gov DeSantis at the helm.
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