Mandatory Moment of Silence Bill Offered in Tallahassee
Current law allows schools to offer a moment of silence for prayer–if the student opts for it–at the start of the day. But there have been calls to reform the law as critics insist the legislation hasn’t been effective since school districts are allowed to dictate it.
State Rep. Kimberly Daniels, D-Jacksonville, has introduced a new bill that would mandate schools to have at least up to two minutes for a moment of silence at the beginning of the day.
Daniels said her proposal will allow students to take part in silent reflection. The Florida School Boards Association is behind the proposal, insisting it would not force teachers to tell students how to use those two minutes.
NRA Challenges Florida Law on Age Limit to Buy Guns
Insisting the current law is unconstitutional, the Florida chapter of the National Rifle Association (NRA) has refiled a lawsuit against a 2018 law which raised the age to buy rifles from 18 to 21.
In the filing, the Florida NRA noted that 18-year-olds can exercise their rights on a host of fronts at the state and national levels.
Second Amendment supporters have said that if an 18-year-old can vote, drive and serve in the military, then that individual should have the right to own a rifle at the age of 18.
Seniors, Millennials Adding to Florida’s Growth in Registered Voters
Dan Smith, a professor from the University of Florida, revealed some interesting numbers to Politico concerning newly registered voters in the Sunshine State.
Since the 2016 elections, 1.9 million new voters have been added to the rolls in Florida. A large part of that comes from seniors moving to Florida to retire. More than 309,000 voters 65 and older have registered to vote in Florida in the past three years.
But 35 percent of those newly registered voters are between the ages of 18 and 29. Almost a quarter of these younger voters–23 percent–are Hispanic and almost 50 percent of them registered with no party affiliation.
Reach Ed Dean at ed.dean@floridadaily.com.
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