Florida Now Ranks in Top Five States for Protecting GLBT Citizens from Discrimination

• Im a gay person. Does the author of this article have any idea how much Florida state law discriminates against same-sex couples? Because if the author did, they would NOT be claiming that Florida ranks in th tops five states for protecting GLBT citizens. Also I have personally found Florida to be one of the least gay friendly states. Sorry but its true.

• FACT CHECKER: First things first - this report makes it seem as if all of these victories rest solely on the shoulders of Equality Florida � FALSE WHY? Most of these victories have come about due to local and other statewide organizations in the state. Not to say Equality Florida had no role, just didn't want people to think it was only them. Second - Adoption Ban was not repealed it was overturned by the courts, which should tell you that Equality Florida had absolutely nothing to do with it. Technically the law still exists on the books and I hope Equality Florida will try to change that; and I challenge them to prove otherwise. This is an ACLU victory as they are our statewide legal advocacy group, and as gracious as the ACLU is, they will tell you a number of organizations assisted, Equality Florida being one of them, but we know the truth. Third - Banning workplace discrimination... last time I checked Florida is still one of the 39 states you could be fired from your job for being gay or transgender. And in a backhanded way Equality Florida is acknowledging that as they point out, "The majority of Floridians are now protected via local human rights ordinances," key word being "local." I thought Equality Florida was a statewide organization focused on Tallahassee? Many of these local ordinances were passed by exactly that, local coalitions/organizations. I'm sure Equality Florida had their fingerprints on some, but I'm positive not all of them. Fourth - again same as above, local ordinances have been passed and Florida is still one of the 40 plus states that failed at defeating its constitutional amendment fight in 2008.... Who's fault was that again? Fifth - ensuring school safety... Hmmmm... I'm not sure what to say about this one except that there must be a distinction between a state law saying bullying is wrong and here are the penalties if you partake in that wrong; versus state law mandating that school districts have an "empty" policy that addresses bullying. We have the latter. (FYI � Miami-Dade has the best policy and program in place and not because of any political advocacy organization but instead due to the forward thinking of the Sexual Minorities Project [http://mhcms.dadeschools.net/bullying.asp] and Safe Schools South Florida.) Sixth - Businesses don't have our back yet on nondiscrimination in the workplace. Oh sure they have nondiscrimination policies on the books, but most major businesses still fund the Florida Chamber of Commerce who is adamantly opposed to any legislation that puts more liability in the lap of companies... i.e. adding classes to the Civil Rights Act in employment protections... translation - companies don't want a bunch of gay and transgender people being added to the Civil Rights Act because their homophobic employees will create legitimate lawsuits of discrimination for them. In closing, it really seems that this report should have come from the collective body of local organizations. The way I read this is that local organizations have their s**t together and have been slowly pushing the needle and changing policy and the hearts and minds of their citizens. Meanwhile, Equality Giving (http://www.equalitygiving.org/States-of-Equality-and-Gay-Rights-Scorecard?page-version=0&date=20100902082052) still has Florida scraping the bottom of the barrel in comparison to the other states in the union. Well actually we are 23rd, but that is only because we scored major points with ACLU's victory in adoption. Just setting the record straight!

TotalComments: 2