Marsy’s Law for Florida sails through CRC with support from top leaders

March 22, 2018

The last two weeks have been awesome for Marsy’s Law for Florida as we received the support of some of the state’s top leaders and influencers.

Last Tuesday, Governor Rick Scott announced his support for Marsy’s Law for Florida at a press conference in St. Petersburg. Governor Scott said, “Florida stands with victims – we have taken important steps in our state to protect those who need it most, and we must continue to do that in the future.” Standing alongside the Governor were victims, survivors, and victim advocates. Our thanks to Sen. Lauren Book, Michael Liles, and Connie Rose who shared their powerful and painful stories of being victimized and then revictimized by the criminal justice system.

We also garnered the support of former Governor Jeb Bush, who penned a supportive op-ed in the Miami Herald.

More state attorneys have come to the table, including:

  • Andrew Warren, State Attorney of Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County;
  • Katherine Fernandez Rundle, State Attorney of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County;
  • J. Larizza, State Attorney of Florida’s 7th Judicial Circuit, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia Counties, and
  • Dave Aronberg, State Attorney of Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County.

The support list kept growing with the addition of the Florida law enforcement leaders, the Florida Police Chiefs Association and Florida Sheriffs Association, who signaled their support for Marsy’s Law for Florida through letters to Constitution Revision Commission member Tim Cerio, sponsor of Proposal 96 – Marsy’s Law.

Recent polls continue to show strong support for Marsy’s Law for Florida among voters, as well.

However, the biggest victory this past week was the first vote on Marsy’s Law for Florida held by the full Florida Constitution Revision Commission. In this first floor vote of the commission, we needed a majority of commissioners to vote in favor of Marsy’s Law for Florida. I am happy to report that we secured 30 favorable votes!