Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/88739
Sarasota News Leader October 19, 2012 would have excluded minors from the right of privacy conferred by Article I, Section 23. But it did much, much more. OPINION effect would be to eliminate the right of pri- vacy from the Florida Constitution. The Legislature, in typical overkill fashion, seeks virtually to eliminate abortion rights in Florida by saying the right to abortion in the state is no greater than the right "contained in the United States Constitution," despite the fact that abortion is not once mentioned in the federal Constitution. The proposed amendment further seeks to eliminate the right of privacy in Florida by saying the right is no "broader in scope than that [contained in] the United States Consti- tution." Because the federal Constitution con- tains no explicit right of privacy, the essential Were there a dictionary entry for "mislead- ing title," we would imagine the title of this amendment would be included as an example. Amendment 8 has nothing to do with religious freedom — unless, by "religious freedom," one means ending a long constitutional tradition of separation of church and state and doing away with a prohibition on using taxpayers' dollars to further religious organizations or activities. The proposed amendment, with deceitful pur- pose, appropriates the actual title of Article I, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution. That section, titled "Religious Freedom," reads as follows: This amendment is wrong for two very im- portant reasons: It seeks to limit for Flori- da women a right to abortion granted by the Supreme Court of the United States; and it seeks to diminish or remove entirely the right of privacy for Florida citizens in general and women in particular, as granted under Article I, Section 23 of the state constitution. It is a particularly egregious example of legislative chicanery, in a state legislature renowned for such subterfuge. We urge voters to vote NO on proposed Amendment 6 on Nov. 6. AMENDMENT 8: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM There shall be no law respecting the es- tablishment of religion or prohibiting or penalizing the free exercise thereof. Reli- gious freedom shall not justify practices inconsistent with public morals, peace or safety. No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public trea- sury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution. Amendment 8 would replace the last sen- tence of that section of the constitution with "No individual or entity may be discriminat- ed against or barred from receiving funding on the basis of religious identity or belief." In Page 64