Maxwell Frost says Congress must protect Floridians’ constitutional rights

Maxwell Frost at town hall. Image via Twitter.

At his first general town hall, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost said the federal government must better protect Floridians’ constitutional rights.

“We at the federal level need to pass legislation that works to protect people,” the Orlando Democrat said.

“That is one of the sole jobs of the federal government. I think about states like ours where I disagree with the way we are being run. I disagree with targeting vulnerable communities. And we need to pass legislation in Congress to protect people, no matter who you are.”

At an event held by Frost’s Office at Dr. Phillips High School, Frost fielded a question from a constituent voicing frustration that there isn’t faster action on dealing with rising xenophobia and anti-LGBTQ sentiment. The constituent referenced state laws passed in Florida cracking down on immigration and allowing medical professionals to deny health care on moral grounds.

Frost, who last week held his own ad hoc hearing on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “anti-democratic” policies, said he’s voted against bills already that he thinks feed anti-Chinese sentiment. He sees hate being stoked by Florida laws as well, and believes it is directly leading to violence and death.

“I’m not trying to be hyperbolic,” he said. “We’ve seen this in our country’s history, that power-hungry leaders will take a nonissue and make it an issue. They will target a group of vulnerable people, whether it’s our Asian families or LGBTQ+ community, Black folks, Black history, Latinos, immigrants, etc. They say ‘if you want me to deal with this problem, give me more power.’ That’s what we see going on in our state, tons of legislation that was passed to ostracize people and to say xenophobia is OK in business and the workplace. I’m 100% against that.”

Frost praised the Department of Justice (DOJ) for opposing a Florida law prohibiting Chinese nationals and those from several other hostile nations from buying land in the state. The DOJ submitted a statement of interest in federal court in Tallahassee that the law violates the federal Fair Housing Act, CBS News reported.

“That’s a good step forward. So we’ll continue to fight,” Frost said.

DeSantis, a candidate for President, publicly pushed back on the DOJ position and attacked President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“While the Biden-Garland DOJ sides with Communist China, I side with the American people,” he tweeted from his campaign account. “As Governor, I prohibited (Chinese Communist Party)-tied entities from buying land in Florida. As President, I’ll do the same.”

DeSantis’ administration last week dismissed Frost’s hearing in Washington as a “stunt.”

Frost said his office will continue to fight back on infringements of rights for marginalized communities. He urged constituents to have patience while promising urgency in his own action.

“In life we’ve got to hold multiple truths,” he said. “When we talk about steps, the steps are important. But the other truth we have to hold is, in the meanwhile, while we are taking steps, people are dying. Whether or not it’s xenophobia, or whether it’s gun violence, whether it’s people going bankrupt because of medical debt, etc.

“Please don’t take me saying it’s a step forward and that’s as good as me saying, ‘Everything’s OK, we don’t need to move any faster.’ It’s not. Just as a student of movements, I recognize that sometimes, those steps are the precursor to something bigger. But we can’t forget that in the meanwhile, people are suffering right now.”