A.G. Gancarski
Slowly but surely, Jacksonville is moving toward affording its LGBT citizens the same rights others have.
The latest example of progress: the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and four independent authorities (The Jacksonville Aviation Authority, JEA, Jacksonville Port Authority, and Jacksonville Transportation Authority) protect LGBT employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Activists hailed this move, which followed the lead of the City of Jacksonville itself earlier this year. Jacksonville codified these protections for city employees and employees of the city’s vendors.
“The addition of these protections at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and our other key public employers are important steps on the path to full equality in Jacksonville,” said Dan Merkan, who chairs the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality.
While public employees are protected, private employees have no such legal protections from being fired for sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
With this in mind, it appears another push to expand the Human Rights Ordinance to include these as protected categories is imminent later this year.
