Florida Looters Could Meet Shooters, Gov. DeSantis Warns

Potential looters taking advantage of Hurricane Milton to loot someone's business or home may find themselves staring down a gun barrel, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

During a press briefing, the governor issued a warning that since Florida is a Second Amendment state, looters wanting to loot in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton had better think twice.

According to Florida Politics:

'You don't know what's behind that door.'

Another hurricane brings another unambiguous assertion of Floridians’ right to self-defense from the state’s Governor.

“If you think you’re going to go in and loot, you got another thing coming,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a briefing at the state’s Emergency Operations Center.

“If you go into somebody’s house after the storm passes, think that you’re going to be able to commit crimes, you’re going to get in really serious trouble. And quite frankly, you don’t know what’s behind that door in a Second Amendment state.”

Variations of this theme are a staple of storm press conferences for DeSantis, and Hurricane Milton continues the tradition familiar to Floridians who were around for 2023’s Hurricane Idalia and 2022’s Hurricane Ian. 

To read more, go here. 

Gov. DeSantis Deep-Sixes Key West Cruise Rules

Above, Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas at Key West. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The whims of some in Key West, Florida were thwarted when Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed some referendums limiting cruises lines that stop at the port.

I visited Key West two years ago as part of our cruise down to Havana, Cuba.

According to Florida Politics:

Gov. Ron DeSantis deep-sixed a series of referendums passed by Key West voters. Three local measures could have significantly limited cruising capacities there. The Republican Governor signed seaports legislation that makes clear ballot measures won’t set maritime rules in Florida.

Opponents of the new law (SB 1194) say this ensures a vital industry won’t be subject to political whims. Critics say the Governor just landed a blow to home rule and hurt an effort to save coral beds to boot.

Meanwhile, city officials in Key West plan to meet next week, where they well could change the course of ships and start this battle for the seas all over again. The city announced a special meeting will be held Tuesday where City Commissioners will discuss local direction around cruise activity.

Lawmakers this year embarked on the seaports legislation in response to three voter-approved referendums passed last November in Key West. The measures in part prohibit ships with 1,300 or more passengers from docking there and limit visitors from ships to 1,500 cruise passengers per day.

That could have an enormous impact on cruise lines deploying to one of the most popular docks on the Eastern U.S. Seaboard.

To read more, go here. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis: “Lockdowns” Turning Democrats Into Republicans

Above, a sunset along the Florida coast. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The state of Florida may be becoming "redder" if Gov. Ron DeSantis is correct.

He says people moving into Florida from other states due to lockdowns and are registering "overwhelmingly Republican."  And, that includes Democrats.

According to Florida Politics:

Media's 'phony narratives' aren't swaying people, says the Governor.

Gov. Ron DeSantis believes “lockdowns” are turning Democrats into Republicans.

During a Republican Governors Association town hall on Fox News Wednesday night, DeSantis made the case that Florida freedom is drawing people from blue states rejecting the media’s “phony narratives” about the state’s pandemic performance.

“The people (who) buy these phony narratives from these media; they’re probably not coming to Florida. But most people see through it. And the people who see through it, they think like us. So I think a lot of these people are coming. I think they’re registering as Republicans overwhelmingly. And I’ve come across a lot of people who quite frankly were Democrats,” DeSantis said. “The lockdowns turned them into Republicans.”

To read more, go here.