Free Republic

A Florida law restricting what doctors can tell patients about gun ownership was deemed to be constitutional Friday by a federal appeals court, which said it legitimately regulates professional conduct and doesn't violate the doctors' First Amendment free speech rights. The ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta overturned a previous decision that had declared the law unconstitutional. An injunction blocking enforcement of the law is still in effect, however. By a 2-1 decision, the appeals court upheld the law as a protection of patient privacy rights and said that the limits imposed by it were...

The parents of "the Florida boy" own a grocery store, with his father from Jordan and mother a convert to Islam, US newspapers reported.

The owner of a towing company was arrested Friday and charged with illegally towing vehicles of people who took part in last month's Gay Days events in Orange County. Jason P. Combs, 44, owner of ASAP Towing, faces 29 counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle and other charges. Deputies allege he towed more than 100 vehicles June 5 to 9 from a parking lot at Westwood Town Center off International Drive, which is across the street from the event's host hotel, Doubletree by Hilton. Combs didn't have an up-to-date contract to tow vehicles or have proper signage notifying...

For the second time in eight days, a South Florida circuit judge has declared the state's gay marriage ban unconstitutional and ordered that same-sex couples be allowed to marry.

A Florida judge on Friday overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in a ruling that applies to Miami-Dade County, agreeing with a judge in another county who made a similar ruling last week. Still, no marriage licenses will be issued for gay couples in either county any time soon to allow for appeals. The ruling by Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel mirrors the decision made earlier by Monroe County Circuit Judge Luis Garcia. Both found the constitutional amendment approved by Florida voters in 2008 discriminates against gay people. They said it violates their right to equal protection under the law...

MIAMI — With more than 51,000 unaccompanied Central American children already here, and more expected to come, school officials ask the federal government for a helping hand. Border kids costs more to educate, about $1,900 per head. Teachers must be bilingual. The students will need health care and psychological services because many arrive sick and traumatized by things they;ve seen and experienced on their journeys north. Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, communications officer at the Miami-Dade County Public School, said up until now, the school district have relied on their emergency funds to help cover the costs. “We are asking the federal government...

Florida GOP state senator Alan Hays said he’ll propose a bill mandating that students in the 1,700 Florida public high schools and middle schools are to be shown the film unless their parents object. A Florida state senator plans to introduce a bill that would make Dinesh D'Souza's docudrama, America, required viewing for most teenagers in the state, The Hollywood Reporter learned on Friday. Republican Alan Hays said he’ll introduce in November his one-page bill that simply states that students in the 1,700 Florida public high schools and middle schools are to be shown the film unless their parents object....

Her book sales are lousy, she's made a couple of gaffes, and she's taken a battering in recent weeks from Republicans and cable TV pundits, but a poll out Thursday shows Hillary Clinton is still a favorite of Floridians. The Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters found Clinton "dominates the 2016 presidential landscape, sweeping the Democratic field and topping former Gov. Jeb Bush and other possible Republican contenders by margins of 7 to 21 percentage points."

Austin Goncalves, 15, is recovering after going into a coma. He went into the coma after he got fish poisoning from a snapper in the Bahamas. Austin is finally eating food for the first time in week. “I’m on anti-seizure medication,” he told WTSP. Earlier this month, Austin caught a mutton snapper that his mom cooked for dinner. “I couldn’t eat, couldn’t breath,” Austin told the station. “This was very serious,” his mom, Karen Goncalves added. “It could have ended our lives.” Austin, his friend, Karen, and her boyfriend were all suffering from Ciguatera, which is a potentially fatal illness...

An explosive video posted online on Sunday shows two U.S. Marines confronting a man who they accuse of impersonating a military veteran at a funeral in Florida. The Marines first suspected the man was likely an imposer because his uniform featured a mix of mismatched medals and ribbons. After the service they approached the man, who identified himself as a ‘sergeant major’. His name badge states his surname as Davis. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2702355/Is-fraud-U-S-marines-confront-fake-sergeant-major-military-funeral-Florida.html#ixzz38K3eVdDH Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

“From-the-River-to-the-Sea, Palestine-will-be-Free.”

Location of Till Dawn Bottle Club at 8205 Dale Mabry Highway In this unusual case in Tampa, Florida, little is reported about possible motivations; but we can make informed speculations.  The facts are this.   A patron of the Till Dawn Bottle Club was thrown out of the club at about 3:30 a.m. He drove off in a Dodge Challenger, and subsequently rear ended a GMC Yukon that was being driven by a visitor from Pennsylvannia, Alexander Sierra, 27.  Alexander was accompanied by his brother and girl friend. They followed the Challenger until its driver lost control and hit a...

ORLANDO – A federal judge has given a secular organization the green light to distribute more atheistic and anti-Christian materials to Florida public school students, in spite of the materials’ graphic content and offensive language. As previously reported, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) learned last year that a Christian ministry had made Bibles available to Orlando high school students on “Religious Freedom Day.” To counter the Bible distribution, FFRF sought permission from the school district to give students a variety of atheistic and anti-Christian materials. According to reports, the Orange County School Board permitted FFRF to distribute several books...

“I was actually scared that it was so close to home, literally, it’s right here on my block,” said Allyson Deihl. “I’ve heard it on the news nationally and it’s scary to think that it’s happening in Jacksonville, in Riverside.” According to the police report, the man and woman spotted three men walking in their direction, then realized they were being followed. The report said that the woman grabbed her can of Mace from her purse, and then her boyfriend was punched, causing him to stumble to the ground. The woman told police that she tried to spray the men...

Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) announced his support for gay marriage Monday, saying that he believes it is "fully appropriate" for a state to recognize both same-sex marriages and "traditional" ones, even though he, as a Christian, believes in the the latter. When asked by The Washington Post whether he supports gay marriage, in light of a Florida judge's decision last week to overturn the state's ban, Jolly said that his personal views on marriage are that it should be limited to one man and one woman. But, he added, states should not be defining the "sanctity" of marriage.

U.S. Rep. David Jolly said Monday he supports the recent decision striking down a Florida gay marriage ban. A Republican, Jolly said that while he believes in traditional marriage because of his Christian faith, he also thinks government should support gay marriage. In an interview with partner newspaper the Tampa Bay Times, Jolly (R-Indian Shores) described himself as "a 41-year-old less-government conservative," and said same-sex marriage is "an issue of less government and personal liberty." During a Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9 televised campaign debate earlier this year, Jolly was asked about the issue and said, "I believe God saw...

A Monroe County judge yesterday said a Key West couple can't marry despite his ruling that Florida's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. Chief Judge Luis Garcia said in an appeal by the state of Florida, "The automatic stay, currently in place, shall remain in place until completion of appellate proceedings or until further order of this Court."

TAMPA Fla. (Reuters) - A 4-year-old Florida boy was mauled to death by two pit bulls at his uncle's home, said authorities on Sunday, who suggested the child may have let the dogs out of their cage to play with them.

Here are a few fotos from I95 overpass demonstrations in Brevard County, Florida today. The first pic is at the Port St. John overpass ... The other two are at the Pineda overpass where there were about 30 patriots waving and whooping at the high point. There was very positive response from the passing cars but especially from the truckers and bikers. I arrived at 12:30 and made some new friends with like-minded folks from local organizations including: www.SpaceCoastPatriots.com www.ActSpaceCoast.org www.Brevard912.net www.BrevardTeaParty.com FReeper Guenevere was there too but I must have missed her.

A Florida jury has slammed a tobacco company with $23.6 billion in punitive damages in a lawsuit filed by the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer in 1996. The case is one of thousands filed in Florida after the state Supreme Court in 2006 tossed out a $145 billion class action verdict. That ruling also said smokers and their families need only prove addiction and that smoking caused their illnesses or deaths. "The jury wanted to send a statement that tobacco cannot continue to lie to the American people and the American government about the addictiveness...