On June 11, Andrew Gillum, the current Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate and mayor of Tallahassee, joined three other candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination by signing the Freedom Pledge, a two-page statement that calls for the state to divest from the police and prisons.
On Sunday, called out by his opponent, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, who asserted, “The fact is, Andrew signed a pledge with the Dream Defenders pledging his support, this radical manifesto,” Gillum protested, “I have no idea what pledge he is talking about.”
He signed the Freedom Pledge, which for the record, is different than the Freedom Papers. Tell your Comms manager to put the phone down and coach you through what to do with your face on stage. https://t.co/aI3Cy4v7cK
— Dream Defenders (@Dreamdefenders) October 22, 2018
But here’s how disingenuous Gillum is; by signing the Freedom Pledge, he actually supports the Freedom Papers, a lengthy booklet issued by The Dream Defenders, as the Freedom Pledge states, “I pledge my support for the Freedom Papers.”
As Jeff Bell, president of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association, pointed out on Fox News, within the Freedom Papers is this statement: “Police were never meant to serve me and you … Police and prisons since their founding have always been about safety for the haves while wreaking havoc for the have-nots.”
The Freedom Papers also state, “Police and prisons have no place in ‘justice.’ Police and prisons aren’t just racist but they work to enforce the separations of rich and poor.” – READ MORE