Florida lawmakers rejected a key piece of counterterrorism legislation earlier this year, prompting outrage from some defense experts who told the Washington Free Beacon that the victims of Sunday’s mass terror attack in Orlando could have used the measure to hold those who plotted the assault accountable.
On the heels of Sunday’s shooting, in which an attacker who pledged allegiance to the ISIS terror group killed 49 bystanders, marking the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, some are criticizing Florida’s legislature for rejecting a counter-terrorism bill that would have paved the way for victims of these crimes to sue the organizers and sponsors in state court.
The legislation, known as Andy’s Law, has already passed in at least five states but was rejected earlier this year by Florida’s legislature despite gaining bipartisan support from state lawmakers.
Florida Republican House Speaker Steve Crisafulli killed the counter-terror the bill by preventing it from coming to a full vote in the State House.
The legislation could have empowered victims of Sunday’s attack to seek unprecedented recourse in state court by allowing them to file suit against the attackers and anyone identified as supporting the plot. Any suit would have fallen under statutes governed by state RICO laws.
The law would have boosted criminal penalties for terrorism and the support of terrorism. It also provides state-level legal recourse for terror victims who have experienced trouble pursuing their cases on a federal level.
While the Florida version of Andy’s Law overwhelmingly passed out of several committees in the state legislature, it failed to see final passage.
"Unfortunately, because Andy's Law failed to pass in the Florida House of Representatives, victims of the Orlando Jihadist massacre, as well as their surviving family members, have been denied a powerful tool for seeking retribution against those individuals and organizations who may have supported or inspired Omar Mateen," the alleged perpetrator of Sunday’s attack, said Christopher Holton, vice president for outreach at the Center for Security Policy.
Sunday’s attack is just the latest terror assault to take place in the Sunshine state.
Mateen is the second radical tied to a small mosque in Fort Pierce, according to reports.
The hijackers responsible for carrying out the 9/11 attacks attended flight school in Florida. The first American to carry out a suicide bombing in Syria, Moner-Mohammad Abu-Salha, grew up in Florida.
Holton, whose organization has advocated on behalf of Andy’s Law, wrote in a recent opinion piece that the legislation empowers terror victims in ways that the federal government has failed to do.
"It is needed on the state level because our bureaucratized counterterrorism apparatus on the federal level is routinely reluctant to bring terrorism charges in cases that are clearly terrorism," Holton wrote. "The law also creates a civil cause of action empowering victims of terrorism to sue in state court those who provide material support and aid those who commit acts of terrorism. Andy’s Law has already passed into law in Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee."
Holton said that powerful Muslim advocacy organizations have led the effort against the legislation.
"All of these well-funded groups and their allies are active in Florida," he wrote. "They are the only known opponents of Andy’s Law. This raises serious questions about the political terrain in the Sunshine State, to say the least when a prominent Republican leader would unilaterally kill a popular counterterrorism measure opposed by nefarious elements of the Muslim Brotherhood."
Update 3:45 p.m.: Following publication, Crisafulli told the Free Beacon in a statement that he should not be blamed for the bill's failure to pass, blaming instead the heads of the relevant committees:
"There are thousands of bills filed each year, with only a few hundred that actually become law," Crisafulli said.
"As Speaker, I appointed members to committees and assigned chairs and vice chairs who set their agendas, but I did not use my authority to micromanage legislation," Crisafulli said. "It was fairly easy for a hard working member to find success in the process. However, in the rare occasion when I was asked to be involved, it was because a bill sponsor or supporter enlisted my assistance. With respect to House Bill 3, I had no contact with Rep. Hill or any other members seeking assistance for a hearing."
"Only now, months after the Session, am I hearing about the bill not passing," Crisafulli continued. "The good news is, victims of terrorism can sue their attackers under federal law. No one will be prevented from seeking civil damages against terrorists. Thankfully, the perpetrator of this weekend's cowardly terror attack in Orlando met the ultimate justice at the hands of our brave law enforcement officers. Let us continue to pray for the victims and families of this horrific attack and support our military as they work to wipe radical Islamic terrorism off the map."