Tammi's World

We're Goin' Soft.....

When I was still a Floridian, there was this big brouhaha about giving ex-cons the right to vote and other civil rights as soon as they did their time.

I'll be honest with you. Personally, I'm against it. It's my whole theory of action leads to reaction. You break the law, you go to jail, you loose many of your civil rights. Period.

But like I said. That's my personal opinion.

Well, I see this morning that Florida lawmakers have put their stamp of approval on a bill and now, all most ex-cons have to do is wait for the state clemency board to send 'em a letter and Voila!

Now, violent criminals still have to "prove themselves" before they gain all their rights, but it's just a matter of staying crime free and they'll be able to vote and all other manner of cool things.

But here's what gets me. And I'll probably piss some people off but hey - my blog, my thoughts. In the article linked above there is a money quote that I just have to comment on.

Florida's previous refusal to erase the prohibition has been seen among many blacks as an unfair effort to limit members of their community from a full place in the state's civil affairs.

I remember the first time I heard that argument. I was living in Tampa (yes, this has been a "priority" for that long). I swear my jaw hit the table. No where does the law mention color. No Where. We had black criminals, yes. But there are also white criminals, latin criminals, asian criminals. This was not and never has been a BLACK vs WHITE issue.

They were throwing numbers around, saying that the majority of criminals were african american, and they truly believed that by denyin' those who break our laws the basic right to vote, or serve on a jury, we were being biased.

How 'bout this. Here's my suggestion. I don't care what your background is. I don't care what race you are. Don't break the law. Don't sell drugs. Don't prostitute yourself. Don't rob gas stations. Don't beat your spouse or abuse your child. Don't steal cars. Just Don't Do It. If it's that important that you retain all of your civil rights than BE AN UPRIGHT CITIZEN. For cryin' out loud.....

I'm tellin' you - I'm just so sick and tired of people thinking that no matter what they do, how they act, what they say they should have NO LONG TERM REPERUCUSSIONS. As a society, we're just goin' soft. Next thing you know we'll be leavin' mints on their pillows in prison.

Posted by Tammi at April 6, 2007 05:31 AM | TrackBack