Appeals court blocks Florida’s ‘Stop Woke Act’ from being implemented
On March 4, a three-judge appeals court panel, two of the judges who were appointed by former president Donald Trump, voted unanimously to block Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act,” a bill that had been passed by the Florida state legislature and signed into law and championed by Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. The “Stop WOKE Act,” more formally known as The Individual Freedom Act (IFA), is one of several pieces of legislation signed in 2022 by DeSantis as part of his war on “woke ideology”, according to CNN.
The act, also known as HB7, aimed to prevent employers from mandating workplace training that promotes diversity and inclusion. However, the court found that it “exceeds the bounds of the First Amendment”. The judges went on to say that the act restricted speech based on content and penalized certain viewpoints, which the court deemed a “First Amendment sin,” according to The Washington Post.
… the bill was designed to block certain teachings about race and diversity in schools and workplaces, particularly any notions that individuals might be privileged or face oppression due to race, sex, or national origin, which DeSantis has decried as “woke indoctrination.” ~ Newsweek
“This is not the first era in which Americans have held widely divergent views on important areas of morality, ethics, law and public policy,” the 22-page opinion from the panel explained. “And it is not the first time that these disagreements have seemed so important, and their airing so dangerous, that something had to be done. But now, as before, the First Amendment keeps the government from putting its thumb on the scale.”
One of the major objections critics have to the act is that they argue it attempts to whitewash history while also restricting free speech. Monday’s ruling blocking the Stop WOKE Act supports an earlier ruling from August 2022 and upholds a preliminary injunction blocking the Act’s implementation ordered by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker of Tallahassee.
A spokesperson for the Florida Governor said that DeSantis and his officials are looking for a way to appeal the appeal court’s ruling blocking the act.
“We disagree with the Court’s opinion that employers can require employees to be taught — as a condition of employment — that one race is morally superior to another race,” Redfern said. “The First Amendment protects no such thing.” ~ Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis Press Secretary
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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