Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a candidate for president, recently asked Disney for protection from their legal dispute, but the media behemoth denied his request on Wednesday, accusing him of avoiding “responsibility for his actions.”
“The Governor seeks to evade responsibility for his actions on a narrower ground, asserting that a governor cannot be held officially liable for implementing, administering, and enforcing state laws that punish residents for political statements violating a state-prescribed speech code,” company attorneys wrote in a legal filing Wednesday.
It’s the most recent shot in a legal conflict that has been going on since April, when the world’s largest amusement park company sued the governor in the United States. District Court for Florida’s Northern District.
The larger conflict started the year before when Disney stood out against the Parental Rights in Education Act, which limits instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in schools and has been called “Don’t Say Gay” by detractors.
Disney vs DeSantis: Far from over
Disney claims that DeSantis and his Republican legislative allies’ responses, including the governor’s takeover of the business’s special taxing district, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, were retaliatory and a violation of its right to free expression.
Even outside of the courts, the effects of the takeover are still far from resolved since the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District was renamed.
The district’s new, governor-appointed board said on Wednesday that it is considering reducing $8 million used to pay off-duty law enforcement personnel who solely police Disney properties due to litigation costs associated with the Disney issue and other start-up expenditures. Martin Garcia, the chairman, described it as “wasteful spending.”
Disney vs DeSantis: Battle continues
DeSantis has frequently linked the legislative onslaught on Disney with what he refers to as their “woke” criticism of his landmark parents’ rights law in interviews, articles, and speeches.
However, at other times and in his legal defenses, he claimed that same initiatives were aimed at promoting justice and putting Disney on “a level playing field with every other business in Florida.”
Disney asserts that in addition to breaching the First Amendment, the defendants also violated the Constitution by breaking their agreement with the company and stealing its property without paying fair compensation.
Disney claims that by carrying out this action without a “legitimate state interest,” they are breaching the due process requirement of the 14th Amendment.
DeSantis’ attorneys call all this “meritless.”
The photo above is from a YouTube screen grab