Tag Archives: Equality Florida

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has filed motions to intervene on behalf of the state in marriage equality lawsuits filed against Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Via Steve Rothaus at the Miami Herald: Allen Winsor, the state’s solicitor general, states in the motions filed in local courts that Florida has a legitimate interest in intervening in the cases since they represent …

Former (and possibly future) Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was today endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Florida. The above tweet links to his petition page: Love is love. Rick Scott has said marriage equality is a “non-issue.” Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi argued that recognizing same sex marriages performed in other states would “impose significant public harm.” Charlie …

Via the Associated Press: The attorney general of Florida says in court documents that recognizing same sex marriages performed in other states would “impose significant public harm.” Attorney General Pam Bondi has filed a response that asks a federal judge to throw out the lawsuit. Bondi’s office says the state has a legitimate interest in defining a marriage as between …

Via Equality Florida: Our Marriage Equality Lawsuit Hearing has been scheduled for July 2nd at 4pm in front of Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel. The suit is on behalf of six South Florida same-sex couples and the Equality Florida Institute challenging that Amendment 2 and other Florida laws banning marriage equality are unconstitutional. The initial lawsuit was filed in January, …

Today Florida finally joined the list of states facing down a lawsuit to overturn a ban on same-sex marriage. Via the National Center for Lesbian Rights: The couples are from Miami and the surrounding area. Four of the couples are raising children, and another couple has an adult child and two grandchildren. The couples are: Catherina Pareto and Karla Arguello; …

Saying that it’s unrealistic to believe Florida’s constitutional ban on marriage could be overturned at this time, a coalition of LGBT rights groups says it will be better to wait for the next Supreme Court ruling. Steve Rothaus reports at the Miami Herald: Gay marriage will “be imposed” on Florida by the U.S. Supreme Court before state voters, judges or …

The Huffington Post reports: A former NBA star who once declared “I hate gay people” became the first person to sign a new petition seeking to legalize gay marriage in Florida. Tim Hardaway signed the first petition Wednesday night for Equal Marriage Florida, a fresh effort to repeal a 2008 state amendment banning same-sex unions. He added his name while …

Saying they have no confidence that the coming Supreme Court rulings will change things for Florida, activists there say they are gearing up to place a repeal of that state’s constitutional ban on the ballot. They’ve got a tough battle ahead of them. “We think it’s going to be a wake-up call for a lot of people who are thinking …

By order of the Broward County Commission, companies with five or more employees must now offer same-sex couples the same benefits they grant to married opposite-sex couples. Equality Florida reports: Broward is the first county Florida to adopt an EBO [Equal Benefits Ordinance]. In 2005 Miami Beach became the first city in the state to pass an EBO, and the …

You have to wonder how much editorial control openly gay MSNBC midday anchor Thomas Roberts has, as it seems he rarely misses an important LGBT story.

By a 6-1 vote, yesterday the commissioners of Orange County, Florida banned sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Equality Florida reports that red-shirted supporters of the measures filled the commission’s chambers prior to the vote. Congratulations to my home county!

Nadine Smith of Equality Florida handed the president a photo during Tuesday’s LGBT Pride Month reception at the White House. The accompanying letter read: Dear Mr. President, Thank you for the invitation to join you for the White House LGBT Pride Reception. On behalf of the 131,000 households that support the work of Equality Florida and all fair-minded Americans I …

Florida’s newspapers are continuing to slam Attorney General Bill McCollum over the George Rekers scandal. From an editorial in today’s Tampa Tribune written by Equality Florida’s Nadine Smith: In McCollum’s first statements he stood by his discredited witness, even as right wing organizations were scrubbing Rekers from their websites. As scrutiny of his financial dealings with Rekers deepen, he is …

Equality Florida’s Nadine Smith tips us to the below Palm Beach Post grilling of Attorney General Bill McCollum over his backing of Dr. George Rekers as the state’s “expert witness” in their bid to maintain a ban on gay adoption. Smith says she is having their legal team investigate the possibility of compelling the state to sue Rekers to force …

My pal Steve Rothaus at the Miami Herald breaks down how Dr. George Rekers ended up with twice what the state agreed to pay him for his “expert testimony.” Anti-gay psychologist George Rekers charged Florida $300 an hour to testify as an expert witness in a trial defending Florida’s ban on gay people adopting. The state planned to cap Rekers’ …

An impressive group of state and national LGBT organizations have expressed their support for Jo-Vanni Roman, the Miami rentboy caught in the middle of the best/worst scandal to hit the anti-gay political machine in years. The above listed organizations and other skilled Florida-based professionals have all indicated their willingness to step in with their widely varied areas of expertise, should …

I just got off the phone with Nadine Smith at Equality Florida who tells us that our campaign against Bill McCollum has finally forced him to acknowledge the Dr. George Rekers scandal. McCollum’s press release: As hired counsel for the Florida Department of Children and Families, our office is committed to providing our client with the best possible legal representation …

I’ve had a couple more phone conversations with Jo-Vanni today. He reports that his interview with CNN this morning “went pretty well,” but that they gave him no indication when it will air. (I’ve emailed my contact at CNN to ask.) And they apparently will show him on camera. In the meantime, I’ve got Father Tony working in Fort Lauderdale …

The Concerned Citizens of Gainesville are smearing openly gay mayoral candidate Craig Lowe by posting placards claiming that his support for the city’s recently passed transgender rights ordinance means he is pro-pedophilia. Via Equality Florida: Last year, when anti-LGBT forces tried to repeal Gainesville’s Human Rights ordinance, Craig Lowe served as Chair of the successful campaign to stop the repeal …

Yesterday the voters of Gainesville, Florida refused to repeal that city’s LGBT discrimination protections. From Equality Florida: Equality Florida joins with local leaders in Gainesville and fair-minded people across the state and nation in celebrating today’s decisive victory over discrimination and fear embodied in Gainesville Charter Amendment 1. Voters rejected the amendment by a vote of 58% to 42%. If …