As resident and active participant in our vibrant community here in Orlando, Florida, I am deeply concerned about the resolution 2023-55 the Orlando city commission passed on January 8th 2024. This resolution threatens to empower the Orlando Police Department with an unsettling level of discretion - to levy disorderly conduct charges against anyone perceived as "impeding sidewalk traffic". 

In this community where numerous public demonstrations are a critical way for Orlando residents to voice our opinions and to learn about issues impacting our communities, where gathering signatures for social causes, and the tireless work towards caring for the unhoused members of our community make this city a more just and equitable place to live, this proposed resolution poses a significant risk to our collective safety and rights as citizens.

The broad language used in this proposal grants police officers unchecked power to charge any individual they wish with a misdemeanor. This could potentially lead to misuse of authority and infringe upon our constitutional rights of - freedom of speech and assembly.

Residents of the city of Orlando raised their concerns about the overly broad language in the ordinance at the commission hearing where it was speedily passed by a vote of 6-1, with Commissioner Bakari Burns the sole commissioner in opposition. 

Commissioners Ortiz, Sheehan, Hill, Stuart, and Mayor Dyer presented flimsy and inconsistent justifications for the intentions behind this ordinance which included personal anecdotes from encounters with drunk people downtown to a home invasion. The commonality in these justifications was that none of the concerns would have been addressed through the implementation of this new ordinance. 

The commission discussed running a study of the impacts of the ordinance in six months from its passage and decided that was sufficient to pass it despite its potential for misinterpretation and subsequent abuse. The irresponsibility of recognizing the potential risks of authorizing Orlando's police force to charge people with disorderly conduct for impeding the flow of traffic on sidewalks and roads furthers the pattern of infringing on our rights to live freely in this city.

Please join us in calling upon the Orlando City Commission to repeal Resolution 2023-55.

 Sign this petition today!