Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaNovember 4, 2016

Don’t call it a retirement. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle of Tallahassee moves to senior status on Monday — not that that really changes anything, he says. “When a judge takes senior status, the judge can keep working as much as the judge is willing to work, and another judge can be appointed,” he added. “I’m taking senior status so […]

Mitch PerryJuly 6, 2016

An online fundraiser for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting set up by Equality Florida has raised more than $7 million. The group, the primary statewide organization advocating for gay and lesbian rights in Florida, launched the GoFundMe.com site shortly after the shooting massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people and injured dozens more took […]

Brendan FarringtonJune 23, 2016

Florida’s Key West is one of the most gay-friendly places in the country. The Florida Panhandle – many locals call it the Redneck Riviera – is a different story. The massacre of 49 people in a gay nightclub happened between these extremes, forcing many Floridians to reconsider their assumptions about the state’s evolving culture. Key […]

Melissa RossMarch 7, 2016

Activists fighting the decades-long struggle for LGBT equality in America have long been skilled at the long game. From the 1969 Stonewall riots to the 2015 nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage, this is a patient movement, one that has nudged the culture inexorably over a half-century toward greater acceptance and inclusion. To that end, the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterFebruary 8, 2016

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A bill that would ban discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has one more chance of passage. The Senate judiciary committee on Monday temporarily postponed the measure (SB 120). The measure, which prohibits gender- and sexuality-based workforce discrimination, will be taken up again Tuesday. Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida, said in […]

Brendan FarringtonFebruary 8, 2016

When it comes to LGBT issues, Florida’s Republican lawmakers are known more for trying to keep transgender people out of bathrooms, protect pastors from marrying same-sex couples and seek exemptions for private adoption agencies who don’t want to place children with gay and lesbian couples. But this year, some Republican lawmakers are backing a bill […]

Mitch PerryNovember 25, 2015

Last week, Jupiter U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Patrick Murphy joined 46 other House Democrats in voting for the SAFE Act, which requires new screening requirements for refugees from Syria and Iraq before they can enter the United States. That vote came despite a vow by President Barack Obama to veto the legislation should it […]

Ryan RayOctober 21, 2015

Rep. Julio Gonzalez filed his first bill of the 2016 legislative year on Wednesday, and it was a doozy: a proposal to give immunity to certain businesses that don’t want to render certain services on grounds of “religious freedom,” including private child-placement agencies. Specifically, the bill amends the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998” to read that […]

Mitch PerryJune 3, 2015

Although same-sex marriage became legal in Florida in January, Attorney General Pam Bondi has continued to defend the state’s 2008 constitutional ban, saying it’s her job to defend the Florida Constitution, “whether or not I agree with it.” Supporters of Florida’s same-sex marriage ban remain hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will support the state’s […]

Mitch PerryApril 23, 2015

Attempting to build up positive momentum in the lead-up to next week’s U.S. Supreme Court hearing on same-sex marriage, a new group has been formed to show the growing bipartisan backing for gay marriage in the Sunshine State. It’s called, Florida Republicans for the Freedom to Marry, a joint effort between Equality Florida and Freedom […]

Tag: Nadine Smith
Image via AP.

Federal judge Robert Hinkle going ‘senior,’ but not retiring

Equality Florida’s Pulse Victims Fund surpasses $7 million

From Key West to Pensacola, Florida’s LGBT attitudes differ

Jax Coalition for Equality keeps up the HRO pressure

Capitol Reax: Changes to municipal elections, LGBT discrimination bans

Legislature considers anti-discrimination bill for LGBT rights

Patrick Murphy’s defense of Syrian refugee vote pummeled on Facebook

“Religious freedom” bill to prevent gay adoptions refiled for 2016

Equality Florida launches new TV ad prior to high court ruling on same-sex marriage

GOP “Freedom to Marry” group forms for SCOTUS same-sex hearing