Governor Desantis

Your decision on 16 Mar 2020 to close and/or limit the operations of certain business establishments, as well as your edict to "not be in groups of more than 10 people on a beach," represents an unconstitutional act on your part. Specifically, you are violating the 1st amendment rights of people to "assemble peaceably for a redress of grievances" and their 4th and 5th amendment rights to not have property, their businesses, taken without due process of law, and to be secure in their persons and in their effects from unreasonable seizures.

Benevolent dictatorship is still dictatorship. No matter how good you think your intentions are, your dictatorial edicts to "protect our health" will actually bring much harm to the people of Florida by limiting their employment and educational opportunities during this difficult time, and by limiting their constitutional right to peaceably assemble for a redress of grievances.

We, the signers of this petition, demand that you lift your unconstitutional restrictions on business operations and on the number of people who can peaceably assemble.