Mitch Perry
Did you know that it’s technically illegal in the Sunshine State to live with a member of the opposite sex in Florida?
Not that it’s being actively enforced, but yes, there has been a prohibition on cohabitation in the Sunshine State since 1968. (Michigan and Mississippi are the only other states with such a law). Which means that, according to 2014 census data, there are nearly 438,000 unmarried male-female couples among the state’s 7.3 million households.
However, for those couples who don’t want to be living in violation of the law, help is on the way.
On Wednesday, the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee approved HB 4003, a bill that would repeal that ban on cohabitation.
The legislation passed the 13-member committee with just three dissenting votes, one of them from House District 59 Republican Ross Spano.
That earned him a rebuke from Rena Frazier, one of two Democrats hoping to defeat him next year.
“Today’s vote by Ross Spano is another example of how out of touch he is with the people of our community,” Frazier said in a statement released Wednesday night. “However, it’s not surprising considering Rep. Spano’s history of anti-woman positions. Whether it’s his opposition to equal pay for equal work, his willingness to intrude on the private medical decisions of a woman and her doctor, or his belief the government can dictate someone’s living arrangements, Rep. Spano could not be more out of touch. “
Frazier went on to say that “Denying a woman the right to live with her partner or male roommate is an idea from another century and only supported by the most extreme wing of today’s Republican Party. The women of House District 59 deserve better. ”
Frazier is a local attorney and Brandon resident, and is running in the HD 59 primary against Naze Sahebzamani.
The other two Republicans who oppose the bill were Ocala Republican Dennis Baxley (a former executive director of the Christian Coalition), and Palatka Republican Charles Van Zant.
The bill will head to the Judiciary Committee, where it died last year.
