Florida
Related: About this forumDid DeSantis violate First Amendment with Fox News-only bill signing?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis not only broke from decades of precedent on Thursday when he blocked all news outlets except Fox News from covering the signing of a voting bill into law. He also may have violated the U.S. Constitution.
Thats the opinion of First Amendment experts who told the Tampa Bay Times it is illegal for DeSantis to hand-pick which media can cover a public proceeding.
The law leaves no question as to the impropriety of banning certain media while allowing only friendly media, said Pamela Marsh, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation, an organization that advocates for open government and represents news organizations, including the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald. That is viewpoint and content discrimination.
Decades of precedent in federal courts have affirmed that elected officials cannot block certain news outlets from reporting on public events just because they dont like the coverage.
Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/05/07/did-desantis-violate-first-amendment-with-fox-news-only-bill-signing/
Fullduplexxx
(8,124 posts)Sibelius Fan
(24,580 posts)Violating The Constitution no doubt gives him a thrill.
bahboo
(16,755 posts)about it. Never any consequences.
Dreampuff
(778 posts)He is just like Teflon Don. No matter what he does, there are never any consequences for it.
Sneederbunk
(14,878 posts)Timewas
(2,260 posts)Why would they? None of them have paid any price at all for breaking any laws and shredding the constitution.. Way to much slack allowed for those asshats
FBaggins
(27,365 posts)Bill signings have become a bigger deal in recent years, but that doesnt make them official events.
The articles gives a court example of a press conference that excluded some media groups... but that case wouldnt have kept the same governor from giving an exclusive interview to one network.
Its tacky... but probably not illegal.