In Florida, children tend to be handled as a major nuisance. The legislature has so many important things to do, yet they still find time to splash a little more acid into the faces of Florida kids:
Take the following as examples:
Film in Florida, please! (Unless your character is gay or a single parent...)
A new bill that revises the current "Family Friendly" tax credit to filmmakers shooting in Florida. The bill increases the credit while adding "non-traditional family values" to the list of things in a film that would disqualify it for the credit.
"The bill's sponsor, Rep. Stephen Precourt (R-Orlando), said he didn't want to target gays specifically, but when the Palm Beach Post asked him whether movies with gay characters could qualify as 'family friendly,' he said, 'That would not be the kind of thing I'd say that we want to invest public dollars in.' This from the guy who represents Orlando, home of Walt Disney World, i.e., the gayest place in the universe." --From http://www.cinematical.com/2010/03/09/shoot-your-film-in-florida-no-gay-characters-please/ (Cinematical)
Not married? Better move out, then...
Florida is one of seven states where it is still unlawful for a man and woman who are not married to each other to live together. SHEESH. By the way, my not-husband and I have lived in 2 of them.
Kids, Schmidz. Florida Loves Their Smokers.
Remember the money that "Big Tobacco" was supposed to pay out? It was supposed to bolster public health programs, which benefit a lot of underpriveleged kids. Florida lawmakers must have reason to believe we don't really need that money after all.
"Florida legislators struggling to close Florida’s budget gap are threatening deep cuts in vital programs and partnerships to serve our state’s children. At present, they are leaving potentially hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by ignoring a proposal to close a loophole in Florida’s tobacco policy that exempts some companies from making health payments. " --From http://www.iamforkids.org/publications/politiwatch/04_13_2010.asp (Children's Campaign, Inc.)
I'm sure I'll find more later. Gotta go to work now, taking care of all the old farts who keep Florida safe from toddlers.
Photo credits:
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
accidental dad
smalltownwriter
Dr. Spudman44
Bob Eckstein
Roger Fallihee
Sally Swift
Salon.com
Comments