Florida AG Uthmeier calls laws that push racial discrimination unconstitutional

Florida Attorney General James Othemeyer issued an opinion declaring that state laws calling for discrimination based on race are unconstitutional and his office will not enforce them.

“Racial discrimination is wrong. It is also unconstitutional. However, Florida maintains many laws on its books that encourage and require discrimination on their face,” Othmeyer asserted in the opinion.

“The question of law at issue here is: Are Florida laws that impose discrimination on the basis of race by giving preferences to certain racial groups, the use of classifications based on race, or the use of racial quotas, constitutional? In short, the answer is no. Any laws that require governmental action on the basis of race are unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Article I, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution,” he noted.

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“As Attorney General, my office and I must respect the equal protection guarantee under the United States Constitution and Florida under the law. Because enforcement and compliance with these discriminatory laws would violate those basic statutory guarantees, these laws are unconstitutional,” he noted. “My office will therefore not defend or enforce any of these discriminatory provisions.”

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Florida Attorney General James Othmeier on April 14, 2025. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Othmeyer’s opinion was issued Monday as Americans celebrate the federal holiday that honors Martin Luther King Jr., the iconic civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Othmeier to serve as state attorney general last year.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference in Fort Lauderdale on July 22, 2025. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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Othmayer previously served as the governor’s chief of staff.