Having lived in Fort Myers, FL for over 20 years, I have been to countless parties, special events, club nights, etc. and I have seen what our once bustling DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS turn into GHOSTTOWN FORT MYERS. I have also seen a trend that has reached a boiling point in OUR community among the young adults that are affected by government sponsored...
AGE DISCRIMINATION !!!!
The definition of a legal adult, is any individual, male or female, who has reached the age of 18, and has the capacity to make informed choices. OUR government CAN send you to war for this country, OUR government CAN administer the death penalty, and their so-called "RIGHTS" CAN be trampled on if you dare to exercise your rights as an adult in Downtown Fort Myers...
It's time to WAKE UP !!!
WAKEUPFORTMYER.ORG is a movement to help restore sanity to our local government by exercising the ONE right they haven't screwed you out of yet.... the RIGHT TO VOTE... but these local politicians don't think your VOICE counts... so make sure you join the fight to end this senseless oppression of basic rights that are protected under our constitution.
OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT has a law/ordinance on the books that STOPS ANY LEGAL ADULT, ages 18-20, from exercising their LEGAL RIGHT to go attend a LEGAL establishment, and exercise their FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION in a PEACEFUL, RESPECTFUL, and ORDERLY way.
What occured this past Tuesday was a direct violation of our 1st and 4th amendment rights as defined by the U.S. Constitution. The first amendment rights were violated the day that ordinance was passed.
OUR 1st amendment protects our "Freedom of Speech and Association (aka right to assemble) which is recognized as a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT and defined as the RIGHT "to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests"
So when 18-20 year olds gather/assemble in a place (INDIGO ROOM) because they love dance music, they express themselves by dancing/socializing, and they promote these interests (music) by telling their friends about this awesome culture (MIX TAPE), then they are exercising their basic rights as humans which IS protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Also protected by this amendment is the right to PURSUE and DEFEND their common interests, and this means refusing to allow their rights to be trampled... which ultimately will lead to erroneous arrests and/or intimidation by law enforcement, but IT IS a right that we do have NONE THE LESS... and we should defend it !!!
OUR 4th amendment "prohibits unreasonable search and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause"
NO "crime" was being committed at MIX TAPE, yet law enforcement took it upon themselves to let themselves uninvited into an establishment and search/seize 18-20 year olds, and trample all over their 1st and 4th amendments. Not to mention public humiliation, unnecessary questioning from law enforcement (total invasion of their privacy), and threats/intimidation of being arrested.
MIX TAPE is a weekly event that takes place at the INDIGO ROOM, one of the longest running establishments that have weathered much of Downtown's economic downturns, non-sense ordinances, and the lack of innovation from our local government officials to do what they were hired (VOTED) to do... TO LEAD !!!
MIX TAPE has never engaged in illegal activity, there are no bar fights, they are not serving minors with alcohol, nor are underage kids (17 and under) being let in. This night allows local DJ's continue to push their careers forward by playing for a peaceful, fun loving, and loyal crowd... and at the same time stimulating the economy in the heart of Fort Myers... by supporting local establishments like the INDIGO ROOM.
Unfortunately, if you are between the ages 18-20, YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS !!!
They passed a local ordinance in 2002, that says that LAW ABIDING LEGAL ADULT (18-20) cannot participate in LEGAL ACTIVITIES, such as supporting a LEGAL establishment who is operating LEGALLY and supporting local artists, bands, musicians, etc.... only because alcohol is available for purchase....
Hmmmm okay... so what happens when a 18-20 year olds walks into 7-11, PUBLIX, or any RESTAURANTS for that matter.... they SELL alcohol too !!! Do you see law enforcement walking into any of those places with a camcorder recording activity of young adults and disrupting law abiding citizens??? No one is enforcing the ordinance at those LEGAL establishments yet they offer the same product for sale, alcohol. So what makes the INDIGO ROOM or any other establishment downtown area any different??
Two questions I'd like to ask our local government officials are....
1 - Why are we spending tax dollars on enforcing frivolous ordinances that harass law abiding 18-20 year olds and trampling their 1st & 4th amendments !?!? As far as I am concerned, this ordinance is invalid in the first place because it violates the U.S. Constitution.
2 - Why does our law enforcement feel that enforcing this ordinance will somehow increase public safety?? What crime is being committed, and who is it hurting?? Also, is there not enough crime out there to keep law enforcement busy with REAL crime??
The simply and ugly truth is, this ordinance is wasting tax payer's money and tying up law enforcement with useless raids, which translates into less cops to prevent REAL crime -- decreasing the overall public safety. This is simply negligent !!!
OUR government officials claim that they do not have enough resources tax money to sustain quality public education, they have laid off thousands of state employees, law enforcement, and other critical workers... Our government cries about not being able to "balance Florida's budget" but they have no problems wasting OUR tax dollars chasing 18-20 year olds out of legally operated local establishment....
... well... SHAME ON YOU... MAYOR RANDY HENDERSON JR for allowing such nonsense to be happening on YOUR watch. You should educate yourself about the current young adult culture, stop the stereotypes of people who enjoy EDM, back up your laws/ordinances with facts and common sense, stop catering to the old & wealthy, because Downtown Fort Myers belongs to young people just as much as any other age demographic because these young adults PAY TAXES TOO !!!!
I understand you hold a Bachelor's degree in Business, but I can't seem to understand the logic on why NOT ALLOWING 18-20 year olds support local establishments is going to help our local economy progress and makes NO business sense at all. I also do not understand why our city does not do MORE to meet the needs of these young adults by creating ordinances that represent them and improve their quality of life too.
I mean, does their QUALITY OF LIFE not matter to you???
DO YOU not realize that these neglected voters are going to hit the ballots soon??
These are important questions that need to be addressed sooner than later, because if the 2008 presidential elections didn't make it clear to you... young voters are a rising power in this country, and WE HAVE A VOICE !!!
So I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume that you are unaware of the magnitude of the injustice this ordinance has caused for almost a decade, so we demand that you uphold your obligation as Mayor to represent ALL of your CITIZENS, which includes 18-20 year olds, and abolish this discriminatory ordinance immediately as it serves absolutely no purpose !!!
For more information check out the links below....
WAKEUPFORTMYERS.ORG documentary video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivtLFEj7Pq8&sns=fb
WINKNEWS reporting:
http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2011-09-23/Anti-age-discrimination-referendum-on-ballot
FOXNEWS reporting:
http://www.fox4now.com/news/local/130541993.html
Meet your MAYOR:
http://www.cityftmyers.com/Government/MayorsOffice/tabid/70/Default.aspx
CALL your MAYOR: (239) 321-7020