The Tea Party Position on Cohabitation

Quote: reno

...and in the last year 104 of them have been arrested under the statute

I'm sure the Tea Party would like to get the rest of them, but can you give me any source behind the 104? I'm not saying this isn't true, but it is so incredible that I could use something to satisfy my skepticism.

Quote: Wizard

I'm sure the Tea Party would like to get the rest of them, but can you give me any source behind the 104? I'm not saying this isn't true, but it is so incredible that I could use something to satisfy my skepticism.

Okay, so the Tea Party is the problem? The Tea Party has come out with a position on this issue? This Tea Party thing drives me nuts. People talk about how crazy they are (yes, there are some crazy folks involved; the majority are not so) and let the even further nutso ideas of the far Left go unexamined (crazy folks there, too).

This is a statement about this legislator: "Ritch has become known to his peers and constituents alike to be a man on a mission to reduce the size and scope of Florida's Government."

This is the list of some of the things that could possibly be a Tea Party platform...if it were that organized:

Identify constitutionality of every new law
Reject emissions trading
Demand a balanced federal budget
Simplify the tax system
Audit federal government agencies for waste and constitutionality
>>>>>Limit annual growth in federal spending
Repeal the healthcare legislation passed on March 23, 2010
Pass an 'All-of-the-Above' Energy Policy
Reduce Earmarks
Reduce Taxes

So...Mr. Workman's reason for wanting this law repealed is likely that it is stupid and any enforcement of it is basically a waste of time, not that he necessarily favors cohabitation without marriage. Getting rid of laws that don't work helps to reduce the size and scope of government.

I wish folks would be open-minded enough to look at the Tea Party as a group of people who want changes that make sense and not judging them on the positions of the furthest out members.

That standard is not applied to the other side in a consistent manner--those thugs in Philadelphia did intimidate voters with the uniforms and weapons, yet all of us allowed our government to ignore the issue instead of pursue it.

Quote: Wizard

I'm sure the Tea Party would like to get the rest of them, but can you give me any source behind the 104? I'm not saying this isn't true, but it is so incredible that I could use something to satisfy my skepticism.

stupid libruls always wanting verifiable fact checking!

Quote: EvenBob

Who is the Tea Party, exactly? Where are they located, who is
their leader? I heard the other day the Tea Party is an idea,
a concept. And therefore is very dangerous indeed..

The Tea Party is a constuct of The FreedomWorks, a PAC. It's dangerous to the extent that if you are a Republican politician, the will Primary you if you don't kowtow to them. The are some other groups that have tried and failed to wrest the mantle of Tea Party from FreedomWorks PAC. The infighting is fun to watch.

Quote: s2dbaker

The Tea Party is a constuct of The FreedomWorks, a PAC. It's dangerous to the extent that if you are a Republican politician, the will Primary you if you don't kowtow to them. The are some other groups that have tried and failed to wrest the mantle of Tea Party from FreedomWorks PAC. The infighting is fun to watch.

So Soros funds the liberal Democrats and someone else funds the conservative Republicans. Why is one a big story and one not so much?

What is wrong with contesting a primary if you feel like an incumbent is not doing the job? If a person says that he is a Republican but does not represent the interests of a majority of Republicans in a given area, they should be challenged. The same would go for a Democrat in the same situation. No one should get a free pass to act how they want after being elected...they should answer to the electorate in the next election. Electing incumbents on both sides without recourse for poor service is what has helped us reach this point...

President Obama wants to raise a billion dollars for this election. Isn't some of that coming from donors finding ways to donate more than the minimum amounts through PACs, etc.?

Quote: Wizard

...can you give me any source behind the 104? I'm not saying this isn't true, but it is so incredible that I could use something to satisfy my skepticism.

The August 31 issue of the Tampa Tribune says: "Over the past 12 months, however, only 104 people in Florida have been arrested under the state statute that lists cohabitation among forms of 'lewd and lascivious behavior.'"

As it turns out, the 104 statistic is a lowball estimate, the real number is actually higher. The Tampa Tribune: "With about 25 percent of state arrest records not citing the statute, the arrest figures for adultery and cohabitation may actually be a bit higher, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says."

I'm just wondering how these 104 sinners got busted.

Quote: s2dbaker

The infighting is fun to watch.

Infighting is fun!

"How long?!?"

If you read the whole story (see reno's link),

Quote: Story

Only two people have been arrested over the last 12 months under the adultery statute, state crime statistics show. With about 25 percent of state arrest records not citing the statute, the arrest figures for adultery and cohabitation may actually be a bit higher, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says.

Section 798.001 and .002 adress the law.

The law in question is:

Quote: florida state law

798.02 Lewd and lascivious behavior: If any man and woman, not being married to each other, lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together, or if any man or woman, married or unmarried, engages in open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior, they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

I guess the 102 in question were lewdly and lascivisouly cohabitating together rather than doing so quietly. Maybe they were married and doing some groping. Who knows... the law was in place apparently for divorce reason.

Quote: Same story

Even in a no-fault divorce state, the cohabitation statute could still figure into an alimony case, said Cynthia DeBose, a family law professor at Stetson University College of Law.

In Florida, someone paying alimony must prove significant change in circumstance to overturn an alimony award -- and the payee's cohabitation with a partner could qualify as such a change, DeBose said. The payee's arrest under the existing statute "could definitely create a situation that would assist the payer of the spousal support."

Quote: s2dbaker

The Tea Party is a constuct of The FreedomWorks, a PAC. It's dangerous to the extent that if you are a Republican politician, the will Primary you if you don't kowtow to them. The are some other groups that have tried and failed to wrest the mantle of Tea Party from FreedomWorks PAC. The infighting is fun to watch.

Uh, and the pro-abortion lobby doesn't demand members of the Democrat Party support all abortion, even partial birth abortion, on demand and even taxpayer funded? That is just one example.

The Tea Party is doing a service to the USA in making us remember that we have the Constitution and are supposed to actually follow it. I do realize Obama and his supporters seem to see the Constitution and Seperation of Powers as inconvienient, perhaps that is why they dislike the movement?

Quote: s2dbaker

It's dangerous to the extent that if you are a Republican politician, they will Primary you if you don't kowtow to them..

Who is 'they'? Name names. Who are they, where are they located. Who is the leader. Even Rush Limbaugh doesn't know. He says the Tea Party doesn't exist, its a concept, an idea. A way of thinking.