Confederate Monuments

A protester waving a pride flag with the Florida State Seal joined hundreds of people, including immigrants rights and abortion rights groups and members of the LGBTQ community from across the state in a rally and march, Monday, May 1, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. Parents of transgender children filed a lawsuit challenging restrictions on gender care, and U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle last month blocked a ban on the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat children diagnosed with gender dysphoria, calling the prohibition “an exercise in politics, not good medicine.” The state is appealing Hinkle’s ruling. The lawsuit was revised Friday to add several adults as plaintiffs

Fort Myers rep's monuments, flags bills could be dead; Passidomo calls one 'benign' but weaponized

Controversial bills aimed at preventing local governments from removing historical monuments and restricting the types of flags flown at schools and other public buildings appear to be dead in the Florida Senate.Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said she doesn’t expect the Senate to move forward on the monuments bill and that the flags bill is stuck in a committee that will not meet again.

This General Robert E. Lee statue in Fort Myers was removed in 2020.

Government & Politics

Bills to penalize officials removing Confederate monuments penned by Fort Myers, Jacksonville lawmakers

Combined dispatches

A Fort Myers state senator and a Jacksonville state representative have both introduced bills that would punish local officials who attempt to have Confederate memorials removed.

FGCU Symposium Covers Race, Confederate Monuments, Sexual Assault and More

Rachel Iacovone

Florida Gulf Coast University's sociology club held its 7th Annual Social Science Symposium on Thursday. Along with a number of faculty presenters…