Gov. DeSantis signs law prohibiting protesting in front of homes

Reporter: Dannielle Garcia Writer: Matthew Seaver
Published: Updated:
Gov. Ron DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Protesting in front of homes will soon be banned in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law to end it.

This comes as people swarm outside the homes of some Supreme Court justices because of the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Governor DeSantis says, “Sending unruly mobs to a private residence is inappropriate”

“Because even freedom of speech isn’t absolute,” said Stephen Mikochik, a constitutional law professor at Ave Maria.

Mikochik says the bill could be challenged because of the way it’s written.

It cites a Supreme Court case from the ’80s, Frisby vs. Schultz, which said residential picketing could be regulated to preserve home privacy.

“But it does allow for picketing in the area. So what was prohibited was targeted picketing, where you’re picketing just in front of the person’s house. Alright, but if you’re picketing around the neighborhood, and that the route includes in front of the person’s house, but it isn’t limited that seems to be protected,” said Mikochik.

First Amendment Foundation Executive Director Pamela Marsh said in a statement:

During session, the First Amendment Foundation spoke against this bill on grounds that it potentially violated the First Amendment rights to free speech and the right of the people peaceably to assemble. We argued that the language of the bill was overbroad. In particular, the law doesn’t exclude (and thereby allow protests at) residences where people have customarily assembled on issues of public importance, like the park outside the secured fenced area of Governor’s mansion or the residences of university presidents. These may be considered “traditional public fora” and treated differently from the narrow, residential streets of Brookline, Wisconsin, which were at issue in Frisby v. Schultz.

The new Florida law doesn’t allow protests in front of or around homes.

Mikochik says it’s a tricky balance between the right to free speech and the right to privacy.

“And if this if this statute were more precisely crafted, I think it not only will be constitutional but probably very good public policy,” said Mikochik.

The law will take effect in October. You can read the entire bill signed into law by clicking here.

According to the law, an officer must give you a warning first, but if you’re asked to leave and do not, you can be arrested for a misdemeanor.

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