Sarah Mueller
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee, despite several concerns, moved forward legislation that would make vandalizing monuments a felony.
Sen. Victor Torres is sponsoring a bill (SB 1690) that would stiffen penalties for defacing, destroying or obstructing the view of any memorial. Violators would face a third-degree felony charge and could be fined up to $5,000 and imprisoned for up to five years. The vandals would have to pay to repair the monuments.
Torres pointed to examples of where memorials to military veterans were vandalized as justification for the bill. He said American flags at graves at the historically black cemetery in Ormond Beach recently were broken and burned. A Tuskegee Airman memorial in Winter Park was damaged last year, and a Sarasota statue depicting a soldier kissing a woman in Times Square was vandalized with #MeToo spray-painted on it.
“These are just a few examples of memorials across Florida honoring the brave men and women who have served our United States military,” he said. “They have been intentionally damaged by vandals. Most of these cowardly acts currently take place with little or no consequences.”
Committee members asked why the bill prohibits anyone from obstructing the view of a memorial in existence on or before Jan. 1, 2019, without the Secretary of State’s authorization, but not to those erected after that date. The language regarding criminal penalties also provides no exceptions for examples like parks workers ordered to remove a statue.
Sen. Antiere Flores said she hopes the language can be tightened so that people would still be allowed to peacefully protest memorials, such as Confederate monuments, without facing criminal penalties.
Criminal Justice Vice Chair Jeff Brandes asked if the bill would make placing a sheet over a memorial a third-degree felony because that would obstruct the view. He also questioned whether it’s the same degree of severity as physically attacking a police officer.
“The theory of general deterrence is if we make everything a felony, then nobody will commit a crime,” he said. “And I don’t subscribe to that theory.”
The committee voted 5-0 to approve the legislation, with the understanding that Torres will consider the members’ comments as it goes through the Senate Rules Committee. The companion bill in the House (HB 1251) sponsored by Rep. Spencer Roach is awaiting its second hearing.
