Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 814 | ‘The Chosen’ Responds to Pride Flag ‘Controversy’ | Guest: Rep. Jessica Baker

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they lead, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed.

Starting point is 00:00:33 You can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. The show The Chosen is getting some backlash after a picture of a pride flag on set started circulating on social media. Does this really matter why or why not? Also, we've got state representative Jessica Baker from Florida. who filed the bill that then became law that allows for the state to pursue the death penalty when it comes to child rapist. This is not the only law that she has been a part of that protects children.

Starting point is 00:01:15 The Rolling Stone is very angry, actually, about some of these laws that she's been a part of that have protected the innocence of kids. And she's going to talk about it all today on this episode of Relatable, which is brought to you by our friends. ranchers go to good ranchers.com. Use code alie at check out. That's good ranchers.com. Code Alley. Hey guys. Welcome to relatable. Happy Wednesday. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. Can you believe y'all? It is the last day of May. May has flown by. I think it's been the fastest month of the year. It felt like April dragged on forever. And May has just gone by like lightning. and it is the eve of a very special month of the year where we celebrate the rainbow, which of course signifies God's promise to us and the Noahic covenant that we read about

Starting point is 00:02:19 in Genesis 9. That's what everyone is celebrating, right? That's what all the rainbows are about. Oh, right. It's something a little bit different because the real rainbow has seven colors and the Pride rainbow has six colors. Of course, now they add all the other silly colors on there, but there's always been that distinction, which I think is actually pretty significant considering that seven means completion and perfection in the Bible. And that is the sign of faithfulness that God gives us in Genesis 9. So let's read a little bit about Genesis 9, since we are on the eve of this very special month of focusing particularly on God's promise of faithfulness. And God bless Noah and his sons and said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth,

Starting point is 00:03:05 fear of you and dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens upon everything that creeped on the ground and all the fish of the sea into your hand they are delivered every moving thing that lives shall be food for you as i gave you the green plants i give you everything but you shall not eat flesh with its life that is it's blood and for your life blood i will require a reckoning from every beast i will require it and from man from his fellow man i will require a reckoning for the life of man. This particular verse is very relevant to what we're talking about today as we talk about the death penalty for particular crimes in Florida. This is verse six. Whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed for God made man in his own

Starting point is 00:03:49 image. So here we see that God actually demands the death penalty for murder, not because he devalues human life, but because he values it so much. He roots his reasoning in something that is pre-Israel it is pre-civilization he rooted it in a reality that is still just as true today that god is made in his image therefore or that humans are made in god's image rather and therefore the only just punishment for proven murder is the death penalty and then he goes on to tell noah and you be fruitful and multiply increase greatly on the earth and multiply it he establishes the covenant with noah and his offspring uh and with every living creature that is with you the to the livestock and every beast of the earth with you as many as came out of the ark it is for every

Starting point is 00:04:34 beast of the earth and here's his covenant here's his promise that he signifies with the rainbow i establish my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth and god said this is the sign of the covenant that i make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all future generations I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you. Wait, isn't that cool? I think so many times we take pictures of these rainbows. And of course, we think it's beautiful. We even know the science behind it. But God says every time he hangs this bow in the cloud.

Starting point is 00:05:22 It is purposeful. It is intentional. It is done by him. And that he is actually actively remembering his covenant that is between me and you in every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. God said to Noah, this is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all the flesh that is on the earth. How good is God that he actually gives us such a beautiful symbol.

Starting point is 00:05:58 of his promise and of his faithfulness, he has every right and really every reason as we look at the depravity that we see in the world today, the glorification of sin and evil and wickedness and deceit and confusion and chaos. He has every reason to destroy the earth again, and yet he promises by his mercy that he will not flood the earth again. Now, we know that evil and wickedness according to Psalm 37, as we are reminded of very often on this podcast, will one day be no more. He will destroy the evil one. He will destroy evil doers. There will be a new heaven, a new earth. Everything will be restored and redeemed to how it was always meant to be. There will be no sorrow or sickness or sin or evil or politics or lies. There will be

Starting point is 00:06:51 no rebellion or depravity, the great burdens and effects of iniquity will be gone forever, and Christ will rule in perfect peace. But until then, we look to the rainbow to remember God's grace and His mercy and also His holiness and His wrath and His justice, all of these things we see in the seven colors of the rainbow. It's not surprising at all to me. that this rejection of God's design, the rejection of what we see in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible that God made us male and female in his image, that that movement of distortion has co-opted and changed slightly a symbol that signifies God's faithfulness. as we read in Romans 1, those who do so have exchanged the truth of God for a lie.

Starting point is 00:07:55 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. This is Romans 118. Who, by their unrighteousness, suppress the truth? For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them for his invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made. there without excuse for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened, claiming to be wise,

Starting point is 00:08:26 they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembly mortal men, mortal man and birds and animals in creeping things. Therefore, God gave them up to the loss of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than, than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions for their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Starting point is 00:09:08 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind. To do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They're full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. So it's not just talking about homosexuality here. We're talking about a whole host of sins that are in the heart. They're gossip, slanders, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, adventures of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless, though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. They not only do them, but give approval to those who practiced them. Look, this was thousands of years ago. And what we read in Romans

Starting point is 00:09:46 one, it's true today too. There's a little bit of comfort in that, right? Like we think of the world just spiraling and getting closer and closer to evil, which I do think in some ways is absolutely true, but the truth is depravity just kind of changes itself and it morphs into different things with each generation, but it's always been the same. It's always been exchanging the truth of God for a lie. It has always been, as we often say, exchanging the God of Scripture for the God of self. It goes all the way back to the garden listening when Satan says, did God really say? Questioning God's goodness, questioning God's truth, questioning the trustworthiness and the goodness of his commands. The same thing that Adam and Eve did in the garden people are doing

Starting point is 00:10:34 today. So while it manifests itself in different ways than it did thousands of years ago, the underlying deceit, the underlying sin remains the same. And what's the good news in that. The good news is that Hebrews 138 tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And this is what I read this morning in my Bible reading about Jesus and what he offers us and the hope that we have in the midst of all of this depravity. It's the same hope that Christians have always had for all of the church's existence. So this is Ephesians 1 starting in verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father. of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly

Starting point is 00:11:19 places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him, we have redemption through his blood. Amen. The forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His God. grace which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his well, according to his purpose, which he sat forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. I really could read not just the

Starting point is 00:11:59 rest of this chapter, but also chapter two to give you a perfect picture of what the gospel is, that all of us were dead in sin, all of us had once exchanged the truth of God for a lie, all of us once worshiped the God of self. So those of us who are now made a lie, Christ by grace through faith, we don't look at those who are lost and say, I'm so much better than you. We say, thank the Lord for offering Christ as redemption for me. Think the Lord that now, though once I was blind, I see. Think the Lord, that I've become a new creation, that I've been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. That is possible. That is possible no matter how far gone you think that you are, no matter how far off you think that you are, no matter what you've done, no matter what you've

Starting point is 00:12:42 thought, no matter what you feel, that salvation, redemption by grace through faith in Christ is possible for you. And once you see that, you will not only see that you've actually been enslaved to your sin, that you've actually been a slave to your emotions, but also that celebrating something like pride, which is a deadly sin, but also all the other sexual sins that are underneath the umbrella of pride and pride month that you'll see that that is all rubbish compared to the treasure that you can inherit through Christ, which is freedom from sin and joy and profound peace and also eternal life with Christ rather than eternal punishment with Satan. So that's what we don't just celebrate that because of the rainbow that we see in Genesis

Starting point is 00:13:34 9. We don't just celebrate that in the month of June as a way to own the lives. We celebrate that all of the time. And now it's just a really good opportunity to remind people of what the real rainbow really means. It represents God's sovereignty and his power and his promises made manifest most beautifully through Christ. The gospel is good news. It's good news for you. It's good news for me. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles,

Starting point is 00:14:18 faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch the Steve Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen. and wherever you get podcasts, I hope you'll join us. Speaking of Jesus and rainbows and Pride Month, I want to talk about the story that I've seen circulating on Twitter.

Starting point is 00:14:56 And that is about The Chosen. We've had Dallas Jenkins on this podcast. We've talked a little bit about The Chosen before. And I just wanted to note this controversy that's going on. This is according to The Daily Wire. An official social media account for The Chosen defended the appearance of a rainbow-colored Pride flag on the set of the crowdfunded show, claiming that the endorsement from at least one team member

Starting point is 00:15:21 would not affect the theological rigor of the project. We'll put a picture up here it is of what's going around on social media. And so as you can see, there's a little rainbow pride flag that is on one of the cameras as they are filming The Chosen. If you don't know anything about The Chosen, the Chosen is, it's a show on Jesus's life. And as I said, we have the creator of the show on this podcast. This is not the first time the Chosen has been embroiled in controversy. There is funding of the show that is from Mormon business owners. There have been some comments that have been made by Dallas Jenkins about Mormonism. We actually talked about those things a little bit in our interview. And they're very, very disparate opinions about the Chosen. There are some Christians

Starting point is 00:16:12 who say this is a trap. It doesn't depict Jesus biblically. And, some people who actually say that it's blasphemous to depicts Jesus, how they do. And then there's other people who say, you know what, this gives me a very good kind of understanding of what Jesus's life was probably like, his relationship with his disciples. And they would say, yes, there's creative license taken here. Of course, there has to be. And but it stays true to the biblical account. and this is just kind of a creative rendering, storytelling of the life of Christ. So very, very different opinions among Christians and even non-Christians about the chosen. But Christian conservatives, they're seeing this pride flag and they're saying,

Starting point is 00:16:56 aha, you know, they've been captured basically by progressivism, by leftism. So according to the Daily Wire, Turning Point USA contributor and former sports reporter, John Rue asked the chosen to explain the presence of the pride flag on set. And here's what a social media account said from The Chosen. Just like with our hundreds of casting crew who have different beliefs or no belief at all than we do, we will work with anyone on our show who helps portray or honor the authentic Jesus. We ask the audiences, let the show speak for itself and focus on the message, not the messenger,

Starting point is 00:17:28 because we will always let you down. Root Press, the Chosen to answer whether it's God honoring to promote a symbol that represents sexual immorality, a worldly definition of marriage, and the idea that we can change our biological sex. So here's where I stand on this. And I actually agree, like, I agree with John Rood is saying with what John Rood is saying here. I don't blame him for asking the chosen to give kind of an explanation of this. At the same time, I do think that the chosen is correct in saying, look, we are going to work with people of all different backgrounds. Like every company does.

Starting point is 00:18:04 Every conservative company, unless you are a Christian ministry, like you are going to have people of all different backgrounds. backgrounds. There are people who work on this show who don't agree with a lot of the things I say or some of the things that I say. And so that's going to happen. That's simply going to happen when you have camera people, when you have editors, when you have different people that are working on the show, that are willing to contribute to the mission of the show, but don't necessarily align with all of the theological tenets that may be the creator of the show holds. And again, it depends on like, are you a Christian ministry? And so you are having all of your employees and all the people who work with you abide by some theological tenants? Or are you

Starting point is 00:18:54 a business that maybe you have a Christian mission, but you are hiring some people either through freelance or whatever to help you advance this mission and or help you advance your goals and your causes who don't necessarily align with all your theological positions. I would say that the chosen is probably the latter. Like, yeah, they're going to be as a conservative Christian in this conservative Christian space that I'm in. There are going to be photographers. There are going to be some editors that don't align with everything that I have to say. Now, I will say, I think that the pride flag itself is a little weird. I would not, no. I would say, no. You can believe what you.

Starting point is 00:19:37 want to believe, but look, like, why are you waving this pride flag? I think that that's odd. Again, I don't think that that necessarily implicates the chosen or that implicates Dallas Jenkins. You might have other problems with the chosen and Dallas Jenkins, and you might have other reasons why you are not watching the show that are much deeper than this whole controversy. But I don't think the existence of the pride flag necessarily, I don't think that is the thing that discredits the chosen or that that is the reason why you shouldn't watch the chosen. Again, there are lots of reasons that people may have not to watch the chosen. But I don't know that this, the existence of the pride flag is one of them because it absolutely is possible for someone to not agree with everything that is being said in front of a camera and still operate from behind the camera.

Starting point is 00:20:30 So I just think that we need to be a little bit realistic in when it comes to like what is the cause of a project? What is the project? Again, are you working with secular people and secular organizations to advance a cause? Or are you a ministry? Are you a church? Are you an organization that needs an absolutely cohesive theological vision? And so, yeah. And you know, this article from The Daily Wire by Ben Zeisloft. I think that's how you pronounce his name. It's very good. It's just summarizing the controversy. It doesn't, you know, say any particular position. It doesn't say that people should stop watching the shows. And it's just kind of summarizing what people are saying about it. Ben Zysloft. He's a very good reporter for the Daily Wire. He's written several things that I've really enjoyed. And so I appreciate his very clear summary of everything.

Starting point is 00:21:29 that's going on here. So look, again, I would just say when it comes to the chosen that you should be doing your research and you should be looking at people's sincere concerns. You might not land on the same conclusions, but we should be thoughtful about everything that we consume. But I think especially when something is purporting to portray some kind of biblical message, I know a lot of strong Christians who love the chosen. I know a lot of strong Christians who absolutely do not like the chosen and warn against it. I don't think that this issue is the deal breaker. I just don't, knowing what I know about the industry and everything and the different kinds of people that you happen to work with. It doesn't mean that you are compromising on your theology just because someone you work with is.

Starting point is 00:22:16 All right, let's bring it to Florida. Before we get to the state representative, Jessica Baker from Florida. I also wanted to highlight this story from Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone is really sad that furry con, which is a conference for people who dress up like animals. And I know that people will say, oh, no, it's just innocent. It's just an innocent, harmless hobby that adults have. No, it's not. It is a sexual fetish.

Starting point is 00:23:01 I'm not saying it's a sexual fetish for everyone. But anyone who is denying that this furry community, especially online, fetishizes bestiality, like you are just living in an alternate reality. This is sexual and Rolling Stone is really sad that this conference full of fetishizing furries cannot include children because of a Florida law. So here's what Rolling Stone says. Last week, organizers behind Megaplex and Orlando-based convention for furries, people who enjoy dressing up or making, dressing up as they're making art of anthropomorphized creatures posted a statement on Twitter regarding its policy for admitting minors. So this bill, Senate bill 1438, the state representative that we are about to talk to,

Starting point is 00:23:50 actually had a hand when it came to the House version of this bill. This is what the bill says. Adult live performance means any show, exhibition, or other presentation in front of a live audience, which, in whole or in part, the picture simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities as those terms are defined. Lude conduct or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts when it predominantly appeals to a shameful or morbid interest is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community of the state as a whole with respect to what is suitable material or conduct for the age of the child present and taken as a whole is without serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. for the age of the child present. So if furridden and drag shows, as we are told by the left, are not sexual at all. They're just totally normal, innocent interests that children can take part in and become more empathetic and inclusive beings.

Starting point is 00:24:58 Then why would this law have any effect? Like it just defined exactly what it is. means by these kinds of lewd displays in front of children. And so if drag shows are totally innocent, if there's no nudity, no twerking, no stripping, no lap dancing, no inappropriateness, and if furry shows are just basically a bunch of fun, loving stuff, to animal loving people, then why would they be affected at all by a law like this. But of course, that's what the left does. They simultaneously say this is not happening and it's

Starting point is 00:25:40 good that it is. So here's what Rolling Stone has to say and why they're so sad about it. They paint this as a tragic, a tragic story. While it is true that there's a segment of furriedom that does treat it as kink, it is not a representation of the wider community, they claim. They claim that while many conventions do cater to the sexualized aspects, of furry fandom, they typically have such programming for later at night to ensure the rest of the con is family friendly. The ACLU called this a blatant attempt to erase drag performers and silence the LGBTQ community. Again, why? Why? If it's just banning sexualized displays in front of children, why does this have any effect on the LGBTQ community and drag shows

Starting point is 00:26:27 if those things aren't sexual at all? So weird. Did you know that? According to this article, 80% of furies self-identify as LGBTQ. Wow. Shocker. So shocking. Rolling Stone also says that a sizable percentage of furries are also neurodivergent. Believing that the furry community is a safe haven. Oh, there's so much to unpack there. So much to unpack. Parents, careful. Careful what you let your children and teens see and get into online. So they're sad about this. They're sad that Florida is banning these sexual shows for children, they actually think, you know, even if some segment of drag,

Starting point is 00:27:12 even if some segment of freedom is sexual, it's basically they're saying it's worth the risk of a child being exposed to this kind of sexuality. It's worth it. Because it's so, you know, it's such a small chance that they'll even be exposed to this. Why not just let them be there? Look, we know what's going on.

Starting point is 00:27:35 on. We know what's going on. All right. You can't hide it anymore. We've slipped down the slippery slope. We're there. I mean, this was a really quick. This was a really quick progression from Aburgafel to today. I'm not saying that everyone who is identifies as LGBTQ is on board with this stuff. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying when your mantra is love is love. you are going to accept all kinds of perversion and depravity in the name of love. Love is love is the exact same logic as trans women are women. It's an axiom, it's circular. You're not actually defining what love is.

Starting point is 00:28:24 You're not setting standards. You're not putting parameters around it. You're not regulating it at all. If love is love, then love can be anything that a person defines it as. And like, you can see where that is gone, right? If trans women are women and you never actually define women, then anyone at any time for any reason can say that they're a woman and we see where that has gone, right? I know that there are some people who want to separate the different parts of LGBTQ.

Starting point is 00:28:51 It's all the same math. It all starts with this belief that men and women are arbitrary, that we were not made by a purposeful creator in the image of God as male and female that we are totally interchangeable. the idea that two men or two women is the same as a male and a female is the same idea that men can become women and women can become men. It's all based on the idea that it's arbitrary, that we are self-defining, self-identifying people who can, upon announcement and declaration, override our biology and our teleology. And it's an anti-Christian belief that I think can only be combated by Christianity. It can only be combated by the belief that no, there is a

Starting point is 00:29:36 creator who because Genesis 1-1 created all things, defined all things, and told us what male and female is, told us what right and wrong is, told us what true and false is. Because of the existence of him, reality actually matters. Teleology matters. Biology actually matters. We don't get to self-identified because we were not self-created. We were created by a God who has greater power to define and identify than we do. And by the way, bestiality is harshly condemned in the Old Testament. There's a reason for that. There's a reason why it is seen as an abomination. There's a reason why it's crossover. There's crossover here. Again, if love is love, there are really no boundaries to it and we will continue to slip down this very slippery slope. All right. Let's get into

Starting point is 00:30:34 this interview with Representative Jessica Baker, who has done an incredible job of championing some very just bills protecting women and children. This particular bill that I think surprisingly got some backlash. Actually, not surprisingly, but disgustingly got some backlash was the bill that has now been signed into law that says, look, for certain cases of child rape, you get the death penalty. And this is biblical, by the way. Of course, there's Old Testament support for this, not just death penalty for child rape, but also just rape in general. It is a gross violation of the Amago Day and the dignity of human beings. And so this just says under the age of 12, the state should have the option to issue the death penalty. And so she's going to explain her reasoning

Starting point is 00:31:23 and her response to some of the pushback that she's gotten. Before we get into it, let me show you this clip of Representative Baker on the House floor explaining why she is so passionate about this legislation. There is no earthly redemption for somebody who rapes a small child. Only God can save them. And in Florida, we should be eager to arrange that meeting. members I ask for your support and with that I quote that's just she's right there is no earthly redemption now she specified that she's not saying that god cannot redeem their souls and cannot change their hearts

Starting point is 00:32:07 god can redeem anyone they can be made new and they can go to heaven by grace through faith but that does not negate the role of the state, as we see very clearly in Romans 13, to punish the wrongdoer even with the sword. People who say, oh, well, we shouldn't have the death penalty because God can redeem anyone. Okay, well, then by that logic, we shouldn't have laws at all. We shouldn't have any punishment. But God very clearly tells us what the role and the responsibility of the government is, that even includes execution for particular crimes.

Starting point is 00:32:50 And she will outline exactly what the stipulations are, what the standards are. And this, I think you'll be very educated and inspired by this interview. Representative Baker, thanks so much for taking the time to come on. I want to talk to you about a few things. But I've been wanting to talk to you for the past few weeks, since I saw this kind of viral video going around of you talking on the house floor of the Florida house about this bill that is, that enacts the death penalty in sexual battery cases involving children younger than 12. And in a speech, you say, look, there's no earthly redemption, should be no earthly redemption

Starting point is 00:33:40 for these people who rape a child. I happen to agree with that as far as the criminal justice system goes. So tell me a little bit about why you helped create this bill and kind of what inspired you to do so. So I filed this bill to protect our children. children from the most monstrance act imaginable. I'm a mother of two young kids. I have a five-year-old son. I have a four-year-old daughter. And I'm a prosecutor. And so nothing is more important to me than protecting our children. And so what this bill seeks to do is it seeks to punish and deter those who would commit this most heinous act against our kids. I would argue that these people who do

Starting point is 00:34:23 this are the most morally depraved persons on the face of this earth. And I don't think there's any punishment that would really redeem them. And I think that death penalties should be eligible for them. So what they do to a child when they commit this act is they effectively murder them. I mean, they're taking away their innocence. They're ripping their soul and their life away. And the child will never be the same. You can ever undo what happened. Right. So this is according to Axios, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that allows for sexual battery against a child under 12 years old to be considered a capital offense punishable by the death penalty. The bill requires that a jury unanimously find that at least two aggravating factors existed for the defendant to be eligible for the death penalty. The law lists 11 aggravating factors, including things like a previous felony conviction, the defendant. The defendant. was registered as a sex offender, the particular vulnerability of the victim due to age, disability, or familial custodial relationships. So there are a lot of factors that play into this

Starting point is 00:35:31 to ensure that justice is actually being done. Obviously, just like in all cases, this person still has a right to a fair and a speedy trial. They have to actually be convicted of this. Sometimes it seems like people forget that there is a fair and just process that would precede something like capital punishment. But tell me a little bit about the pushback that you've gotten and has it surprised you. So I do want to talk about what you just brought up, which is there are two stages. We are talking about a person who has already been convicted unanimously. And so I think a lot of the Democrats would argue, well, we don't want to convict someone who is innocent or put someone to death who's innocent. But we're talking about a person who has been convicted.

Starting point is 00:36:19 unanimously the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that this person was guilty of that crime. And now we're moving on to the sentencing phase. And what people don't know is there are a lot of layers of protection, if you will. So first, the state has to prove two aggravating factors. And that's different than in our capital murder cases where they only have to prove one aggravating factor. And they have to prove those two beyond a reasonable doubt. And the jury has to find unanimously that the state did prove beyond any reasonable doubt or exclusion that these two aggravating factors occurred. And then the jury's got to find that there's sufficient aggravating evidence and that those aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating circumstances. So the defense

Starting point is 00:37:06 is going to put on, they're going to put on facts to the trial that show mitigating circumstances. And the jury will have to find that those aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating circumstances. And then we have to have at least eight jurors recommend the death sentence to the judge. And additionally, beyond that, there's another, if you will, layer of protection. The judge will have judicial discretion to bring that death sentence recommendation down to a life sentence. What is a little bit different is for the last few years in Florida, we would have to have a unanimous jury find a recommendation of death. And now we are bringing it back down to eight.

Starting point is 00:37:48 But previously in Florida, prior to 2017, it was actually seven jurors. So we're actually bringing it back in line with what it used to be in Florida for many, many decades. And it's actually greater than what it used to be. So I did want to bring that up about the different stages because a lot of people get very confused where we are in the stages of the trial and the sentencing phase. Right. So there are some opponents. Some believe that the law is in direct. violation of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana, which found it unconstitutional for states to use capital punishment for a crime other than murder. For example, Aaron Waite, he represents the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has spoken against the legislation saying, courtrooms must be a place for justice and not vengeance. Ooh, I have a real problem myself, actually, with his logic. This bill invites a longer, costlier process that the victim and their family,

Starting point is 00:38:46 will endure. So tell me what you say to something like that. Obviously, not just as a legislator, but as a prosecutor, you would have considered all of these different things and potential opposing arguments before you actually filed this bill. So what would your response be? Absolutely. I did a lot of research into these Supreme Court cases. And so what we have are, there were two opinions, basically, that led ultimately to this decision in 2008 by Kennedy. versus Louisiana. But when you read the opinions, what you'll find is they were really improperly decided because the court used their own independent judgment to come to this finding of this evolving national standard of decency in saying that the rape of a child is unconstitutional.

Starting point is 00:39:37 But the reasoning didn't point to any statutory law. It didn't point to any constitutional provisions. And so I think this is very much acceptable to reconsideration by the U.S. Supreme Court. When justices legislate from the bench and they cite an evolving standard rather than basing the opinion on statutory law or the text of the Constitution, I think that invites this reasoning to be challenged and revisited. And so going more deeper into the case law, if you'd like me to. Yeah, go ahead. The first case.

Starting point is 00:40:12 Yeah, the first case was from 1977. It's Cobra v. Georgia. The case held that the rape of an adult woman, the death penalty would be ineligible or unconstitutional for the rape of an adult woman. And around that precedent, around that decision, they discussed rape versus murder. They discussed whether the death penalty should be eligible in cases of rape in general. But that was dicta. That was opinion by the court. That wasn't the holding of the case. And so when Kennedy looked to Coker v. Georgia, they really looked at the dicta of the opinion. And you'll see that the dissent in Kennedy, it was a five to four decision, by the way, so a very narrow decision.

Starting point is 00:41:00 The dissent in Kennedy pointed out that for 30 years, state legislatures operated under this shadow of Coker, where maybe they thought that the state would hold hold this unconstitutional. So maybe they were, you know, out of respect for the U.S. Supreme Court. They were not passing laws that would have the death penalty eligible in cases of child rape. But what I would say is they're in action to pass a law that they think might be futile, could not then be interpreted as a standard of decency in society. I think it's up to states to decide the punishment for these most heinous crimes. So that's kind of where I'm

Starting point is 00:41:42 I did a lot of my research, looked at these two cases. Up to 2008, the death penalty is eligible for hundreds of years for the rape of a small child. If you go back to when our founding fathers wrote the Constitution, the death penalty was eligible in all cases of common law felonies. That's kidnap. That's rape. That's murder. That's robbery. So actually, we've come a long way where a lot of these things are no longer death penalty eligible. And just to reiterate something that you explained and also just alluded to this case of Kennedy v. Louisiana, I really encourage people to go read about it and read about what was involved in this case. I mean, if you have the stomach for it.

Starting point is 00:42:37 It is an absolutely heinous crime that is described, this brutal, brutal rape of someone's eight-year-old stepdaughter. And then, of course, the more liberal members of the court decided that it was unconstitutional. cruel and unusual punishment for this person to get the death penalty in. I think that if this law is challenged and goes all the way to the Supreme Court, that it's worth that. It's worth, I think, fighting it that far and that hard. And that's actually like what the governor, what the state of Florida said that it's going to do, that they're going to continue to push this if it is challenged. I mean, there are fewer things more worth it than that, I think, defending the dignity and the rights of these most vulnerable victims, right? So I think no hurdle is too high to protect our kids.

Starting point is 00:43:32 And I believe that most of these people who would do this to a child are more morally depraved than someone who would pull a trigger. I think most people in America would say that abusing a child for sexual gratification is demonel. I think it's the epitome of moral depravity. So I'm hopeful and optimistic. This will go up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and I hope they will recede from Kennedy. This is also an infringement of our state's rights to determine what the punishment is for these types of crimes. So I am optimistic that they will. It's a different court than it was in 2008, and it is such a narrow decision.

Starting point is 00:44:14 We know that the Supreme Court is never held by its prior war. rulings. They overturn precedent all the time in the history of this country going back hundreds of years. So this is nothing new. They definitely can overturn Kennedy v. Louisiana. Yes. And the makeup of the Supreme Court is different. And that doesn't necessarily guarantee that it would be overturned. Obviously, we kind of have some wild cards that are typically considered the conservative justices on the Supreme Court. And so it's hard to determine which way they would rule at least right now. We'd have to look at some past similar rulings by some of these justices. But I think that is absolutely worth the fight. And it's

Starting point is 00:44:55 actually kind of surprising to me that this hasn't been brought forth sooner, that this isn't something that has been challenged more frequently than it is right now, because certainly children being raped sexually abused for gratification, is it new? And so it must be that some people just don't think it's worth the fight. It's not politically expedient. I know there's even some pushback against the death penalty in general, even on the right. Did you deal with any kind of opposition from people on your own side when it came to the death penalty? Mostly, no, absolutely not. I think all Republicans voted yes on the bill. I do recall having some conversations with people who don't believe in the death penalty.

Starting point is 00:45:46 on the right and on the left. And you can't argue against that. If you don't believe in the death penalty, you don't believe in the death penalty. But a majority of Republicans, vast, vast majority do. And actually, when I was first interviewed about this bill when I filed it,

Starting point is 00:46:03 our local news station put a survey on the website and they asked, do you believe in the death penalty for child rapists? And 92% of respondents said, yes. So I think most of America, would agree that this is the most heinous crime if we're going to protect our kids, this is the punishment that the state should have an option to do. And I want to be clear,

Starting point is 00:46:27 not all cases will be able to go to the death penalty. It's like we talked about earlier, there are a lot of specific hurdles that the state has to overcome. And furthermore, the state has to prove the case. The person has to be convicted guilty. And in a lot of these cases when you have kids who are under 12, these people that do this to the kids, they know the kids. There's a relationship there, unfortunately, and the kids are not coming forward right away. So there might not be forensic evidence. And I think that's why you see a lot of these times these perpetrators will get maybe not a life sentence. Maybe they have to come down because the state doesn't know that they can fully prove it in trial. So again, we're talking about a

Starting point is 00:47:11 very small amount of cases that we'll see. It could take years before we see the state go after a case in Florida. Yeah. And, you know, the standard should be, should be high. And that is one of the great things about our justice system is that, yes, of course, there's punishment for crimes. But the standard that you have to reach as the state is really high to be able to pursue really any kind of punishment, but certainly the death penalty. And that's, we agree with that. Even as heinous as murder is, as heinous as rape is, we still believe that that person is entitled to rights, that they should have a fair trial. They should have a speedy trial. Justice means that it has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that that person committed that crime.

Starting point is 00:47:59 And again, I just think people kind of forget that, that we're able to, if someone is accused of something, we can just slap them with the death penalty and they'll go straight to death row. That's not how it happens. If you are able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, meeting all of these hurdles that you've laid out that you brutally raped a child, I think, again, it's really difficult to try to argue against someone being executed in this case. Some pushback that I saw on Twitter and then on a couple news websites that I thought was very strange. Here's one headline from an outlet called The Body, why Florida's new death penalty legislation could hurt the LGBTQ community, a number. another headline, a new Florida bill could spell literal death for queer and trans citizens. Basically, the kind of a leap that they're trying to make is, well, you know, people on the right call LGBTQ people, groomers. And so now they're just going to be able to sentence them to death. Again, a lot of confusion

Starting point is 00:49:00 about how this process works, but also if you don't rape a child, it really doesn't matter how you identify you're not going to be met with this punishment. Exactly. We're not going after someone because they're LGBT. We're going after a perpetrator who committed a crime irregardless of what they identify as or what their sexual orientation is. Yeah, we're going after someone who commits the most heinous crime against our most vulnerable, our kids under the age of 12. Yeah, absolutely. And there have been some other, what some people would call controversial bills that you have been a part of, either that you've sponsored or that you've filed.

Starting point is 00:49:43 Of course, I'm supportive of them, but, you know, the media likes to manipulate things. So, for example, the HB 1069 removing pronoun politics, expanding parental rights and education that was sponsored by you. HB 1438 protecting children's innocence that prohibits explicit adult performances in front of minors. HB1521, ensuring women's safety in sex-specific locations like locker rooms, correctional facilities. And thankfully, you have a governor that is very supportive of these things, which are common sense. They shouldn't even have to be, I think, defined specifically by law. But tell me, like, what is giving you the courage and the inspiration to not just, not just file the bill that we just talked about, but specifically go after this very contentious issue of protecting women's sex-based rights and spaces, also protecting the innocence of children when it comes to, like, these drag shows?

Starting point is 00:50:49 So this goes back to the reasons I ran for office. And I've, I've never run for office before. This is the first position I've ever held in government. government. And the reason I decided to run for office is because what I saw in 2020, I saw the mask mandates of our kids. I saw the lockdowns, the shutdowns. It was a country that I didn't recognize anymore. And if people don't remember, we had a lot of rioting in 2020. And then we learned about the indoctrination of our kids in our schools. All of a sudden, this transgender pronouns started showing up in schools that I've never heard of before. And I still don't

Starting point is 00:51:29 understand, frankly. And so that's really what prompted me to want to do something. We have to fight this. It's so important. And we are blessed in Florida to have a great governor who under his leadership. We've been able to do so many things and also under Speaker Renner. So that's why I wanted to co-sponsor the bills like the bathroom bill, the pronoun bill, ending those in schools, getting back to the basics. We had the drag show bill making it. a crime for anyone under the age of 18 to attend those drag shows. But yeah, we had a great session. I think we did really just good things for the state of Florida for protecting our kids.

Starting point is 00:52:13 1297 was one of those bills that really does protect our kids. And it's going to deter the behavior of this, the most heinous crime that you can imagine on our children. And so I'm very proud of what I did and what we did in the state of Florida. Yes. Well, I am so thankful for your courage. I'm also thankful that Governor DeSantis has had your back on this and has really supported these bills that you've put forth. It's a great time to be living, I think, in the state of Florida with people like you that are pushing actual justice for innocent victims, especially children and women. So thank you so much, Representative.

Starting point is 00:52:54 I really appreciate you taking the time. come on. Thank you so much for having me. It was a great discussion. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular.

Starting point is 00:53:31 This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us.

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