As a new COS volunteer, last week was my first opportunity to participate in the yearly Rally in Tally. I felt compelled to attend, even though I was just starting to meet other COS volunteers.
I’m so very glad I made the effort to attend the rally. I will definitely be going again next year.
The night before the rally, COS volunteers from around the state gathered at the patriotic themed and veteran supporting Mission BBQ restaurant. It was such a pleasure to meet COS volunteers in person who I had only seen online. Experiencing such camaraderie with so many like-minded fellow patriots was both comforting and energizing.
The day of the rally was a flurry of activity. By mid-morning it was time to start distributing legislative packets. We headed into the Capital’s maze of House and Senate legislative offices. We met with some of the legislators, dropped off information packets, encouraged support for Convention of States, and gathered petition signatures whenever possible.
I joined a few others from my region and had the privilege of meeting directly with two House Representatives. We were thrilled to find out that they both wholeheartedly support COS. They posed for group photos and then shared those photos on their legislative social media accounts with messages promoting COS.
The support and encouragement received from so many in the Florida Capital was truly inspiring. Following lunch in the Capital's cafeteria, we reconvened in the courtyard to hear the lineup of speakers.
Speakers
The first speaker was Jim Kallinger, a former legislator and current member of NAFSL (National Association of Former State Legislators). He shared that it wasn't until he had left his legislative position that he fully realized the problems in our federal government would not be fixed from the inside. He is now a strong supporter of the Convention of States.
Brenda Karlin, Regional Director for seven of the nineteen passed states, then spoke and recognized the various COS leaders in attendance, asking a few COS volunteers to come up to the podium to share a few words. She also spoke about on a variety of other topics, such as the benefits of Servant Leadership, generating additional support for the COS Veterans Coalition, and the need to continue making inroads into our school system.
We then had the privilege of hearing from House Representative Dr. Joel Rudman (HD 3), who assured us that there are many in the legislature who stand with COS. In addition to sharing his support for COS, he asked for our support of some of his proposed pieces of legislation. The first was House Joint Resolution 131, which gives recall ability to every county in the state of Florida when they have a corrupt county commissioner and need to get them out. Another was HB 1403, which House Health and Human Services Committee voted 11-5 Monday afternoon to approve. Simply put, that bill gives physicians in Florida the right of medical conscience. If a doctor feels a medical treatment is wrong, they would not be obligated to provide it.
Representative Rudman also mentioned HB 1487, which redefines the government’s role in a public health emergency. This bill allows the Governor the ability to call a public health emergency for 60 days, with the option to extend it an additional 30 days only after first gaining a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the state legislature. That bill also states that in no way does “treatment” mean “vaccination”. Based on the crowd’s reaction, his proposed legislation was definitely supported by the crowd. He concluded by pleading with the audience to call and write our state legislators to implore them to support HB 1487, for the benefit of future state governors.
In the midst of it all, we had an unexpected speaker pop in. Chris Licata was a prior member of the COS Working Group when Florida passed its resolution in 2014. He was thrilled to see that COS Florida is still active and growing. Chris was at the capital during our rally because he now works there as a legislative aid.
Bill Snyder, Legislative Liaison and District Captain HD 9, also spoke. He challenged everyone to participate in citizenship in their communities. He also shared information about resources like Wall Builders radio program, Liberty Counsel, and Patriot Academy Leadership Congress.
Florida State Director Denah Butts then spoke about how Florida COS is in the process of forming a Florida COS Education Coalition. Denah then shared how she grew into her position in COS and the tremendous growth she has witnessed in COS since joining. She also reflected on how our nation got into this current mess because we were all taking our freedoms for granted, and provided a heartfelt and inspiring message of perspective and appreciation.
Legislative Liaison Troy Darling then reminded us that we have reached a point in history where the pain of not changing outweighs the daunting challenge of pursuing change. He then closed out the speaker portion of the afternoon with a prayer.
Wrapping Up
At that point it was time for the Veteran's Walk to the Vietnam Memorial and WWII Memorial to lay a wreath and pay respects to the honored veterans and their valiant service.
The last activity of the day was gathering on the steps of the original capital building for one last group picture. Then it was time to return home … until next year.
We the people of the State of Florida, being grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, in order to secure its benefits, perfect our government, ensure domestic tranquility, maintain public order, and guarantee equal civil and political rights for all, do ordain and establish this constitution.
~ preamble to the Florida constitution
