Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Melissa RossNovember 4, 2015

In the wake of last night’s defeat of an anti-discrimination ordinance in Houston, activists with the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality say they’re going to work overtime to educate the public – and prepare to do battle against any potential scare tactics that could be mounted to defeat an expanded HRO in Duval County. Prop. 1, known […]

Melissa RossOctober 20, 2015

In an email to supporters and media outlets, the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality reminds stakeholders that “10 is the magic number.” And the message goes on to name-check this website in its campaign to press Jacksonville City Council members to update the city’s human rights ordinance to cover LGBT citizens. “It will take the votes […]

Phil AmmannSeptember 17, 2015

Two Palm Beach County municipalities are the latest to provide protections for all residents, including the LGBT community, from discrimination. The Florida Businesses for a Competitive Workforce coalition campaign manager Patrick Slevin on Thursday praised the Village of Wellington, Palm Beach County’s fifth largest municipality, and the Town of Lake Clarke Shores for efforts to protect the LGBT […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 11, 2015

State Sen. Jeff Clemens on Friday filed a Senate companion bill (SB 258) to a piece of House legislation that aims to outlaw sexual conversion therapy on patients under 18. Conversion therapy generally refers to a course of treatment, including talk therapy, to change one’s orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Last Thursday, state Rep. David Richardson, a […]

Melissa RossSeptember 1, 2015

Ousted Atlantic Beach Commissioner Maria Mark had a run-in with the police Monday night. As The Florida Times-Union reported, police say Mark tried to confront a resident who supported Mark’s opponent, new Commissioner-elect John Stinson. Mark told the T-U the last straw was a “hateful sign” in the homeowner’s yard that “stated Mark should have […]

Melissa RossAugust 31, 2015

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The Florida attorney representing a Kentucky court clerk in a standoff over same-sex marriage says it’s a matter of religious liberty. “It’s getting to the question of, if you hold an elected office, how far do your constitutional rights go?” attorney Roger Gannam of the Orlando-based firm Liberty Counsel told FloridaPolitics.com. Kentucky’s Attorney General may […]

Melissa RossAugust 21, 2015

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Florida attorney Roger Gannam, who spoke out against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Atlantic Beach human rights ordinance in 2014, is now involved with the defense of a Kentucky county clerk who has religious objections to marrying same-sex couples. On Monday, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to issue […]

Associated PressJuly 2, 2015

You may have noticed your Facebook friends getting considerably more colorful. More than 26 million Facebook profile photos have taken on a rainbow hue in the days since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that marriage is a right guaranteed under the Constitution regardless of a person’s sexual orientation. People have been covering their […]

Melissa RossJune 29, 2015

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 […]

Mitch PerryJune 22, 2015

Criminal justice reform has become a hot topic this year, and Rand Paul isn’t the only Republican talking about such efforts on the GOP campaign trail. Crime rates have been dropping across the country over the past decade, but in Florida the state’s incarceration rates have continued to rise. The ACLU will soon pick three […]

Tag: LGBT

After Houston, Jax LGBT activists say they’ve got their work cut out

Email insights: Jax Coalition for Equality says bipartisan HRO support “is growing”

2 Florida municipalities praised for passing new anti-discrimination protections

Jeff Clemens files Senate version of “conversion therapy” ban

LGBT equality movement stirs cross-currents in Florida

Orlando-based Liberty Counsel takes same-sex marriage fight to U.S. Supreme Court

Florida’s Liberty Counsel reps Kentucky clerk in same-sex marriage standoff

Rainbow Facebook photos: Armchair activism or shifting tide?

With same-sex marriage now legal coast to coast, Jax activists eye city’s HRO once again

Florida under consideration for ACLU push on sentencing reform?