Dexter’s Law<\/a>, promised her a searchable statewide database of convicted animal abusers that she could use to check applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n“We have no idea where they live in the state, nothing,” Hardman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The database that launched Wednesday is a list of 1,700 names, from John Smith to Timothy Brown, but it doesn’t include birthdays, photos or counties. So, in cases of people with the same name, like John Smith, there is no way to tell who is who.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hardman and other rescue group leaders said it’s going to create a headache for the thousands of other John Smiths and commonly named people in Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And that’s going to make people more suspicious and make it harder,” Hardman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, however, appeared to publish exactly what the law demanded: a list of names. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Is this just too loosely written?” Nick Papantonis, an Orlando-based reporter, asked animal rights activist Debbie Darino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They did a list. I’m not sure what they were thinking, but that’s not what it was supposed to be,” Darino said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darino pushed for the new state law to be modeled after the one she helped pass in Volusia County, which includes photos and dates of birth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Darino said she’s already spoken to the law’s legislative sponsor who plans to reach out to FDLE and urge them to add more identifying details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m all over it, just like, if I was you, and my name was in there, that just can’t happen,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only convictions that are made when the law went into effect will be listed in the database. Older animal abuse convictions will remain unpublished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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