The State of Florida has officially adopted a new law that gives the death penalty to people convicted of sexually assaulting children under the age of 12. The bill before it became law was championed with bipartisan support. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says that many of these individuals are serial offenders and essentially cannot be rehabilitated. This view is shared by a large majority of people across the nation. Some people, however, have a different point of view.
There are some who have a rational disagreement with the law due to their anti-death-penalty stance. The complaint is that the victims often know their abuser. 30% of the time children are abused by a family member. Sometimes, the family does not appreciate that their relative is being prosecuted for a crime that they are not sure was committed. This can wreak havoc on the mind of a small child. Then, there is the years-long process that is death row. Also, there are other legal minutiae to dredge through in order to make this new law applicable. These are rational arguments against the new law.
However, there are other people who think that this law targets the LGBT community. One person uploaded a video saying that DeSantis is trying to eliminate gay people from the state of Florida. The TikTok-er mentioned transgender people using the bathroom of their choice and other hot-button social issues that could apply to the law. None of this makes sense because in order to be convicted of a crime, there must be solid evidence. Simply going into a restroom is not evidence that someone was abused. Maybe the LGBT person who spoke out against DeSantis is simply saying the “quiet part” out loud.
SOURCES:
Florida passes bill OKing death penalty for kid sex crimes
Death penalty for child rape goes into effect in Florida – YouTube
Libs of TikTok on X: “Democrat activist is nervous that the new Florida law which gives the option of the death penalty for convicted child rap*sts will affect the LGBTQ community the most and make them leave Florida… https://t.co/6kd4reGTdK” / X
