(ORLANDO, FL) - Extremist activist Joyce Tarnow, called a "gadfly" by the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, was arrested outside a supermarket in Pompano Beach in July, according to an August 8th TIMES report. Tarnow, who is no stranger to controversy, said she plans to challenge the arrest in the courts - and plans to break the law again.
"Joyce Tarnow's arrest shines a timely, glaring spotlight on the hidden agenda of the Hometown Democracy leaders," said Michael Caputo, executive director of Floridians for Smarter Growth. "Reporters, community leaders, and voters should take note of Ms. Tarnow's words and behavior as this case unfolds - it will help all of us understand what makes the group's extremist leadership tick."
On July 8th, the 68 year-old Tarnow was arrested in the parking lot of a Publix supermarket in Pompano Beach. According to the TIMES story, she was fully aware of a new law granting businesses the right to eject unwanted signature gatherers from their property. Instead of obeying the law, she repeatedly approached customers asking for their signature in favor of an extreme constitutional amendment proposed by her group.
When asked to leave, Tarnow refused. She was subsequently handcuffed, arrested, booked, and spent two days in jail. After the debacle, she told the TIMES reporter she would be violating that same law again soon, even though she pled no contest to the charges against her.
"Tarnow is one of several extreme special interests behind the so-called Hometown Democracy amendment," Caputo said. "Tarnow's arrest proves yet again that these folks aren't far left or far right - they are just far out."
Once the operator of one of South Florida's most active abortion clinics, Tarnow spent many years and thousands of legal dollars to protect her own private property from protestors. In a recent oped penned for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Tarnow noted she supports Hometown Democracy because it will help move the US Congress closer to what she calls "a population policy that reduces population pressure" on society.
In fact, Tarnow serves as the vocal president of Floridians for a Sustainable Population, an extreme anti-immigration group pushing for sealed borders, severely limited immigration, and a mass round-up of undocumented aliens.
Asked by a reporter in 2004 to clarify her population control views, Tarnow - owner of Sterilization Services, Inc. - said she believes "Fertility is an environmental issue. That's why I try to get as many people sterilized as are in my way!" Her population-control zeal also exposes her less than humanitarian view on the plight of third-world nations. Her advice to people in countries like Haiti: forget about American humanitarian aid, just "stew in your own juices."
"Every day we find out more about who's behind Hometown Democracy: population control gadflies, strip-club kingpins, and special interest lawyers who've made their bones filing countless harassment lawsuits," Caputo said. "Yet somehow the media pets them daily, perversely identifying the creepy cabal as a grassroots movement."
Today, the group is gathering petition signatures to amend Florida's constitution in 2008 that would require citizens to vote on thousands of land-use decisions every year. Floridians for Smarter Growth was founded by Sunshine State community and business leaders to fight these extreme special interests bound to destroy Florida's unique quality of life.
Floridians for Smarter Growth has proposed a smarter amendment to manage growth. Please visit www.FLSmarterGrowth.org for more information and to download, sign, and submit the Smarter petition.
PLEASE READ THIS STORY:
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2004-07-15/news/adios-abortionist/print
