Last week, members of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) campaigned across the state of Florida.
Once we caught wind of a radical abortion amendment that would undo all of the progress pro-life Floridians had made, we decided to do something about it.
We launched two separate TFP caravans that took place simultaneously. These caravans consisted of a courageous contingent of young men who brought the issue to the public square.
These volunteers would fill massive intersections, carrying signs reading “Vote No on 4” and “Honk Against Abortion.” No one could miss their message. They also brought flyers made specifically to unravel the deceit behind Amendment 4. Its clear, straightforward description of the amendment’s dangerous contents helped TFP volunteers instruct the public and change countless minds.
We left no stone unturned. In just one week, we held 41 street campaigns in 24 different cities.
The Drive Down
On the way down to Miami, we held our first rally in Wildwood, which borders the largest retirement community in the United States. Our campaign got off to an intense start as one driver threatened to shoot TFP volunteer Nikolas Scheuren. Thankfully, his words were empty, and nothing came of it.
Even better, this man was vastly outnumbered, as the majority of passersby honked in favor of life.
Days 1 and 2
Once we reached Miami, we pulled out all the stops. In just two days, we held nine rallies in Miami and its surrounding cities. They held hour-long campaigns in Plantation, Coral Gables, West Miami, Hialeah, Kendall and Sunrise.
Out of all the Miami suburbs, the most vocal support came from areas with large Latino populations. Several of the TFP caravanners spoke Spanish and asked drivers to “pita contra el aborto.”
Additionally, we paid a visit to Florida International University (FIU). We stayed for over two hours and handed out hundreds, if not thousands of flyers.
There were many fruitful conversations here. We were surprised to see how many students were not aware that abortion was on the ballot and were open to hearing what we had to say. Many undecided voters committed to voting “no,” and even some decided voters changed their minds upon hearing just how radical the amendment would be.
Of course, some were obstinate in their positions. But their radical stances made spectators think twice before voting in favor of abortion.
For instance, one relativist said that in some cases, killing innocent people could be a good thing. Such radical comments scandalized nearby students, and as a result, they were more open to having a conversation with us.
Several students approached us to thank us for visiting their campus. Some of them told us that they were also fighting against the abortion amendment and reported that they had made a lot of progress.
Day 3
After two complete days in the greater Miami area, our two caravans split up.
One of them drove up the west coast and held rallies in Naples, Sarasota, Tampa and the University of South Florida (USF).
At USF, we found the most support among students. Several students from the campus pro-life group approached us and gave us energetic interviews. They said that based on what they’ve seen, they believe that Amendment 4 will not pass.
The other caravan traveled up the eastern seaboard, holding rallies in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and Vero Beach.
Once again, support exceeded opposition. On several occasions, when one person started to scream at us from his car, all of those around him would simultaneously start honking their horns in direct response. Naturally, this would only trigger the liberal even more, and he would speed away in defeat.
It was entertaining to see some Floridians approach us with skepticism, wanting to make sure that saying “no” to Amendment 4 was the pro-life position. Once we reassured them that we were doing everything we could to stop abortion in Florida, they could not contain their joy.
During the campaign in Vero Beach, a clearly agitated man on an electric bike bolted towards us. He then tried to run over volunteer Anthony Atilano, who narrowly dodged the attack. What had made him so angry was listening to dozens of honks while waiting to cross the intersection.
However, another young bicyclist approached our campaign and asked for more information. He showed support for our work and even subscribed to the TFP Student Action YouTube channel on the spot.
Day 4
Following these campaigns, the two caravans reconvened outside of Orlando. We started the next day with a rally in Winter Park, where we saw some vocal opposition. One woman began screaming at a TFP volunteer standing on the median with a “Honk Against Abortion” sign.
She repeatedly cursed and told him to get away from her car, even though he was about twenty feet away from her. When he asked her to calm down and tried to reason with her, she simply kept repeating the same thing over and over again like a broken record player.
However, Winter Park was another example of a typically liberal community that showed a lot of support for our cause. Despite the unhinged screaming leftists, about 50% of the passersby honked in support.
After this campaign, the two TFP vans drove to the University of Central Florida (UCF), which is the largest campus in the state.
Out of all the campuses we visited, UCF saw the most debates, with the majority of them remaining civil. One far-left student made a bold claim, stating that the right to life only began at the age of 18. Until then, murder was legitimate in his mind.
However, most students were not that crazy, and some of them even joined us in debating the pro-abortionists.
After the university campaign, we held one large rally outside of the Mall at Millennia in Orlando. This intersection had some of the busiest traffic we saw during the entire trip, and once again, the support was abounding.
One man rolled down his window and proclaimed, “Tradition! Family! Property! TFP, I love you guys!” Others asked what was going on, and our volunteers would approach their cars, explain our campaign and offer them flyers.
At this point, the caravans split up for the afternoon and held more campaigns in Orlando, Kissimmee and St. Cloud.
Day 5
The next day, the two caravans made the trek to Gainesville, where the University of Florida is located. This was our final university campaign, and it did not disappoint.
When we arrived, students were sitting at a booth promoting Amendment 4 as a good thing.
Some of us tried to have a conversation with these students because we thought that their whole purpose of being there was to convince people of their viewpoint. However, they refused to talk to us and instead gave a cold shoulder to anyone who disagreed with them. They were only willing to engage with those who were sympathetic to their pro-abortion views.
We also saw students holding signs encouraging their classmates to vote “no.” These were much more willing to engage in conversations, even with those who disagreed.
Once again, we found much more support than we usually do at college campuses, which gives us hope that this caravan will have a lasting impact.
We also held two honk campaigns at a busy intersection in Gainesville. One man gave us Gatorade and said, “I’m glad to see you out here. Abortion destroys the family, and we need to reconquer the family.” Nathan, one of our volunteers, gave him a miraculous medal in return.
He responded: “Thank you! I’ll cherish it forever! Every time I look at it, I’ll pray for you all.”
At that same intersection, we encountered another man who wasn’t so friendly. He asked some of our volunteers, “Why are you all men? You have no opinion!”
One of the caravan leaders, Kenneth Murphy, responded by pointing out an inconsistency in his liberal views: “Don’t you know that Kamala Harris believes that men can get pregnant, too?”
The leftist didn’t know how to respond and later admitted that he believed that men could become pregnant. When one of our volunteers told a passerby about this, he shook his head in disbelief.
Following this, our two caravans drove down to Ocala and held several more rallies all over the city, including the historic downtown.
The Final Day
On Saturday, one of the caravans headed to Jacksonville, the largest city in the state. We held two campaigns at massive intersections, receiving the same abundance of support that we had seen in other cities.
However, we also saw the tolerance of the left unmask itself. One man got out of his car during a red light and started screaming at us. Thankfully, all of the vehicles surrounding him started honking in support of us. One lady in the car next to him even rolled down her window and started arguing with him.
We then decided to wrap up our pro-life caravan in St. Augustine, a very symbolic location.
This is where the Spanish explorers first settled in what would become the United States. It was also in St. Augustine where the first Mass in the present-day United States was offered.
Today, you can still visit the Mission Nombre de Dios, where the statue of Our Lady of La Leche resides.
And that is precisely what we did. Both caravans met at this historic mission and prayed a rosary before the patroness of Florida, asking her to defeat the pro-abortion amendment.
After being fortified by prayer, we marched up and down St. George Street, which was packed with pedestrian traffic. One of our bagpipers led the way, and everyone wanted to see what the spectacle was about. This proved to be the perfect strategy as our volunteers handed out hundreds upon hundreds of flyers.
We then stationed ourselves in front of the historic Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. Several of those exiting Mass thanked us for making the trip to Florida and told us about everything they were doing to stop Amendment 4.
It was with this that we concluded our week-long caravan. Our spirits were high as we saw thousands of Floridians show their opposition to the radical abortion amendment.
Their reaction was energetic and hopeful. They acknowledged that the battle for the unborn was a tough one, but they were confident that it was one they could win.
Polls indicate that the race will be a tight one. However, based on what we saw and the conversations we had, we believe that there is a lot of hope that this radical abortion amendment will fail and Florida will remain a pro-life state.
Let us pray that through the intercession of Our Lady of La Leche, the patroness of Florida, Amendment 4 falls on its face.
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