(As originally published with bells and whistles, Thu, August 4th 2022, 9:56 AM EDT)
TAMPA, Fla. (CBS12) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Hillsborough County state attorney Andrew Warren for “presumptive non-enforcement.”
In Tampa, Thursday morning, the governor claimed Warren “put himself above the law” by deciding which laws he would uphold and prosecute, and which he would not.
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He said Warren would use “veto power of the laws of this state” when it’s the legislature’s job to make laws, and he picked two controversial social issues to make his point.
DeSantis said he wants violations of the state’s abortion restrictions to be upheld. The governor said it’s “typically done through a dismemberment procedure,” and authority to determine whether it’s legal was “returned to the states” by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs.
DeSANTIS and ABORTION:
- 2022-08-09 New lawsuit filed against state of Florida, Gov. DeSantis over abortion law
- 2022-07-14 Gov. DeSantis talks inflation, abortion during Thursday afternoon news conference
- 2022-06-30 Gov. DeSantis: Judge ruling Florida abortion law unconstitutional was ‘not unanticipated’
- 2022-06-24 Disney, other corporations prepared for Supreme Court abortion decision, just in case
- 2022-06-24 Abortion ruling divisive in South Florida, just as the issue had been
Also, DeSantis continued to take on another form of medical care: treatments that he referred to as “disfiguring young kids” who are transgender. He made an analogy — “A 12-year-old boy can’t go out and get a tattoo but yet somehow, if the legislature were to say that you can’t get a sex change operation” — to demonstrate all laws need to be upheld.
They are literally chopping off the private parts of young kids
“They are literally chopping off the private parts of young kids,” he claimed, and hinted at future legislation on “protecting child welfare,” which he said is currently being done “administratively and with medical licenses.”
DeSantis also compared State Attorney Warren to prosecutors in cities around the country with high crime. Then, in speeches that bordered on political, he was applauded for his law-and-order policies by sheriffs from Hillsborough, Polk and Pasco counties.
Other speakers discussed the Constitution and separation of power.
And, the governor was joined by Attorney General Ashley Moody, who said Warren abandoned his responsibility. She also hinted at more events with law enforcement officials.
Both DeSantis and Moody are running for reelection in November, and DeSantis is considered a possible presidential candidate in 2024.
In a news release emailed during the news conference, it was announced DeSantis appointed Judge Susan Lopez from the Hillsborough County Court to serve as state attorney during Warren’s suspension.
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