(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted two constitutional amendments on the Nov. 5 ballot with the help of some physicians and Hall of Fame football coach Tony Dungy at an appearance in Clearwater on Tuesday.
The amendments need 60% of voters to become part of the state’s governing document.
The second-term Republican governor said the wording of both Amendment 3, which would enshrine recreational marijuana to the state’s constitution, and Amendment 4, which would add a right to abortion, are intentionally vague.
“I think you have a very compelling message in terms of the problems of this amendment for people on both sides of the abortion debate generally, can agree that you don’t take away the rights of parents, you don’t have no meaningful limits,” DeSantis said. “You do not open the door for taxpayer funding of abortion, and you ought to tell people what your amendment is going to do.
“You shouldn’t just have a vague amendment and then punt it all to the courts so that liberal judges get to rule the state of Florida.”
Dungy, who coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts, said Amendment 4 was written by the same people who wrote a similar amendment now in the Michigan constitution.
Dungy is a Michigan native and warned that the vague language in the amendment could lead to taxpayer funding of abortions.
“I am so upset when people say, oh, we need to get this passed, because women in Florida are in danger when they’re pregnant,” Dungy said. “No, they’re not in danger when they’re pregnant. We have health care. We have some of the best health care in the world here and it’s available and it’s not going to be withheld if this amendment doesn’t pass.
“So that’s important, but even more important to me and my family, it’s personal, because I happen to believe that these babies in the womb are lives.”
DeSantis mentioned that the political committees behind both amendments are extremely well-funded.
Smart & Safe Florida has raised more than $148 million, according to data from the secretary of state’s office. The largest share, $141.8 million, was contributed by the Trulieve Cannabis Corp, a Quincy-based marijuana retailer that is the largest in the United States.
The company has added $38 million to the group’s war chest in the last week.
“In the state of Florida, I don’t care if you hate weed or you love weed,” DeSantis said. “Is there anybody who thinks that this is a healthy way to conduct a republican form of government? Of course, it’s not. It’s a total, total farce. So that’s how it got on the ballot.
“And if you vote yes on three you are voting to enrich this company, because they wouldn’t have spent $141 million if they didn’t think they’d make a hell of a lot more money on the back end, I can tell you that. And not only is that a problem, but the way this is written, it’s so egregious what they’re doing.”
Floridians Protecting Freedom put Amendment 4 on the ballot and they’ve received $108 million in contributions, according to state data, with most of those funds coming from the Service Employees International Union and the American Civil Liberties Union.