For Rewire News Group

Greetings from the Fascist State of Florida.

It’s already been a little over two months since Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signed the “Heartbeat Protection Act” into law in the middle of night, effectively banning most abortions after six weeks. Unless the conservative Florida Supreme Court rules otherwise, the law likely puts the last nail in the coffin of Florida’s status as a sanctuary state for abortion access, a Southern oasis in the “pro-life” Bible Belt.

For Rewire News Group

The story of Florida’s citizen-led ballot initiative is a testament to the fighting spirit of those who live in a deeply embattled place.

Our home insurance rates are sky-high and climbing. Our inflation rate is among the highest in the nation. And the state legislature is full of book-banning anti-intellectuals whose hobbies include impeding accurate instruction on U.S. history, voter suppression, and casually attacking LGBTQ+ folks’ civil rights.

But one thing that must be said about Floridians is that we take care of our own. The lifeblood of my state has always been the people, and after the six-week ban passed, people did what we do after every major disaster: We got to work to clean up the mess.