Some major headlines in Florida recently:

"Florida Republicans Take Aim at Gender-Affirming Care, Drag Shows... [The bill] would treat parents as abusers for allowing medical care to children, and cracks down on parenting harder even than Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s notorious anti-trans child executive order." [1]

"Florida lawmakers approve death penalty in child rapes, sending bill to governor... The Florida Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would allow the death penalty for people who commit sexual batteries on children under age 12, sending the issue to Gov. Ron DeSantis." [2]

"Florida to allow death penalty with 8-4 jury vote instead of unanimously... If the Republican governor signs the bill into law, Florida prosecutors trying capital felony cases would need to convince only two-thirds of the 12-member jury that someone who is convicted deserves the death penalty, rather than a unanimous decision by a jury." [3]

I'm sorry, but we are able to connect dots. DeSantis looks like a fascist to many of us outside looking in. I mean, you couldn't be more transparent about building a legal framework for the state-sponsored execution of LGBTQ people. They're doing it right out in the open, and you're telling us that we should just maybe consider that the parents are concerned about what the liberals are teaching their kids about sex. Well then why are they busy passing laws making it easier to put LGBTQ people to death? You can make sure your kids are taught whatever you want without making the death penalty a 8/4 decision. You can do that without making being trans or providing trans healthcare a capital offence.

This is just like the Dobbs decision. When that landed, you had assured us it was a great thing because it meant the states could finally decide once and for all their local norms based on local politics. Well here we are now and there's a nationwide ban on abortion medicine because of an ideologue federal judge with a religious bent, writing laws from the bench, who decided he didn't like it, so we all have to abide by that. People who live in communities that support these medications will be affected, and we were assured by conservatives on the court (and their supporters) that this situation would not come to pass.

So really, I can't stand any more predications about what restraint the right will use with these laws. Any loophole in there will be used as such. Omissions and vague language aren't an oversight in lawmaking, they are tools which allow for the unequal enforcement of those laws in whatever way the executive (Ron DeSantis) prefers.

We cannot give Florida the benefit of the doubt that they aren't currently laying the edifices for genocide because a man like Ron DeSantis would never aspire to exact that kind of revenge on his enemies. Please. The man oozes petty authoritarianism. He is a walking narcissistic injury, and he's proven (though his Disney debacle) he is willing to use his power and his office to exact personal revenge against political opponents. He's not fooling anyone, and any calls to "please let's all give everyone the benefit of the doubt" doesn't pass the laugh test when he's lowering the threshold for the death penalty.

[1] https://www.advocate.com/politics/florida-republicans-transg...

[2] https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-nsf-death-p...

[3] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/florida-allow-death-penalty...