Let's cut the nonsense, folks: HB 1205 isn't about "cleaning up" the citizen initiative process. It's about power. It's about control. And it's about the political elite in Tallahassee doing everything they can to keep the people—the actual citizens of Florida—from going around them.

The bill's sponsors say they're concerned about "out-of-state bad actors." Please. That's political theater at its laziest. Since when did the zip code of an idea determine its merit? If a proposal gains enough signatures and resonates with Floridians, it shouldn't matter who helped pass the clipboard. Good ideas shouldn't require a Florida driver's license.

What's really going on here? Simple. Politicians are terrified that ordinary people might use the tools of direct democracy to push for things they don't like. That's it. Marijuana decriminalization. Term limits. Privacy rights. Things the ruling class refuses to touch, the people put on the ballot. And they hate that.

So instead of listening to us peasants and what we want, they're attempting a sleight of hand, smoothly changing the rules to benefit bureaucrats.

HB 1205 adds unnecessary red tape, shortens petition deadlines, raises fines, and—get this—criminalizes people for collecting signatures outside their inner circle. You heard that right. Help gather signatures for a cause you believe in, and you could be hit with a third-degree felony. That's nuts!

The hypocrisy is rich. After Gov. DeSantis blew millions in taxpayer money to campaign against citizen initiatives he didn't like, the Legislature is suddenly concerned about public money being used on ballot amendments. Now that someone else might have the mic, they want to unplug it.

Look, I agree the Constitution shouldn't be amended willy-nilly based on flavor-of-the-month politics. But handicapping the people's ability to amend the basic law of the land is not the way to fix that. If the system is being abused, tighten transparency—not freedom. Fix fraud, don't fix the fight.

HB 1205 isn't about protecting the Constitution. It's about fencing it off from the very people it's supposed to serve.

Back off, Bro.