Melissa Ross
With reaction continuing to pour in after the Friday Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, Jacksonville LGBT activists say they’re ready to take another crack at updating the city’s human rights ordinance.
“We’re trying again,” says Jacksonville attorney and activist Jimmy Midyette, who chairs the Northeast Florida LGBT Leadership PAC, and thinks the climate is now a more temperate one for this cause.
“Many of the candidates who we endorsed for City Council were elected. It does give us a sense of hope that we haven’t had since August 15th of 2012 when the first attempt was derailed,” he said during an appearance on WJCT’s First Coast Connect.
“We will continue this debate in Jacksonville, and this fall, we will see a new bill introduced to expand the HRO to be fully inclusive and include the LGBT community.”
Jacksonville remains one of the only large cities in the country that has not updated its human rights ordinance with language that protects LGBT citizens from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. A measure put forth in 2012 failed 10-9 on the Council.
Now though, a slew of new Council members (some of whom were supported by Equality Florida) have recently been sworn in, which could change the political fate of another attempt to pass the HRO.
Meanwhile, this week look for the city’s Office of General Counsel to release its report (ordered by outgoing Mayor Alvin Brown) reviewing whether there are instances of discrimination in the city that need addressing.
