JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Florida\u2019s Attorney General essentially declared more than 80 state laws aimed at benefiting minority employees and businesses null and void. <\/p>\n
In a formal opinion<\/a>, Attorney General James Uthmeier argued the laws violate the 14th Amendment\u2019s Equal Protection Clause. <\/p>\n \u201cFlorida laws requiring race-based state action are presumptively unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment,\u201d said Uthmeier in a social media post<\/a> <\/a>announcing the opinion.<\/p>\n State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) argued the decision to issue the opinion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is par for the course for Florida Republican leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. King always fought for economic equality and justice and liberation for all people, and this is just another slap in the face,\u201d said Nixon.<\/p>\n And she argued the impacts on minority businesses will be very real.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to act as though it\u2019s not a big deal and like everybody has the same opportunity, and that\u2019s not necessarily true,\u201d said Nixon.<\/p>\n While Uthmeier\u2019s order only applies to those state laws, local policies, regulations, and grant programs tailored for minority residents and business are also under threat.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we implement these laws at both the state level and the local level, we\u2019re just gonna be Americans for a change, and I think that\u2019ll help everyone get along better,\u201d said State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee).<\/p>\n Black is sponsoring legislation this year<\/a> that would prohibit local policies that give preference based on any immutable characteristic, including race.<\/p>\n And that bill has already been endorsed by the Governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want local governments out of the business of ideology, and we want them in the business of merit. We want you to hire based of merit. We want you to get contractors awarded based on merit and stop creating these artificial divisions that pit people against one another,\u201d said Black.<\/p>\n Mayor Donna Deegan\u2019s Office is currently reviewing Uthmeier\u2019s opinion and is keeping track of Black\u2019s DEI ban legislation.<\/p>\n Nixon argued it\u2019s moments like these that highlight why elections matter.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are returning back to the worst chapters of our history in this country. It is very upsetting, but we know what we need to do come November,\u201d said Nixon.<\/p>\n Uthmeier\u2019s likely Democratic opponent in the upcoming Attorney General\u2019s race was quick to condemn Monday\u2019s announcement. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is troubling that our Florida Attorney General has chosen, of all days, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day to announce an effort to undermine civil rights. Equal protection has never meant ignoring discrimination; it means confronting it,\u201d said former State Senator and candidate for Attorney General Jose Javier Rodriguez.<\/p>\n >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n