Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 13:58:13 -0700 (PDT) From: Ron Buckmire Subject: qrd/usa/florida Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 13:43:59 -0400 From: Human Rights Council of North Central Florida Subject: [GLB-NEWS] Gainesville (Fla.) City Commission Adopts Sexual Orientation Antidiscrimination Ordinance FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Craig Lowe, President, Human Rights Council of North Central Florida 352-372-5192. Gainesville (Fla.) City Commission Adopts Sexual Orientation Antidiscrimination Ordinance "A victory for fairness and equality," say gay & lesbian rights supporters GAINESVILLE, Fla. (June 1) -- In a decisive victory for human rights supporters, the Gainesville City Commission voted Monday night to include sexual orientation in its antidiscrimination code, which prohibits discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations and credit. The provision takes effect immediately. "Tonight's vote is truly a victory for fairness and equality," said Craig Lowe, President of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida. "No longer will Gainesville residents have to fear losing their job for simply being gay or lesbian -- reasons that have nothing to do with job performance." Lowe said heterosexuals would also be protected against discrimination since the ordinance protects people of all sexual orientations, gay or straight. The 3-1 vote marked the culmination of seven public meetings on the issue, which was first proposed to the city commission almost one year ago. The commission formed an ad hoc committee which held four public hearings last fall and returned with a recommendation to adopt the ordinance. Commissioners Bruce Delaney, Pegeen Hanrahan and Sande Calkins voted in favor of the ordinance. Commissioner Ed Jennings Sr. cast the sole vote against. Mayor Paula DeLaney, who has opposed the ordinance in the past, was absent from the hearing. About 100 people packed the city hall auditorium for the two-hour hearing. Of the 35 speakers who spoke to the issue, a majority were in favor of the ordinance. In her final remarks, Commissioner Pegeen Hanrahan, acting as mayor pro-tem for the hearing, said she had been asked by a reporter recently if she had ever witnessed discrimination against gays or lesbians firsthand. Having told the reporter of an incident "off the record," she proceeded to tell the hushed audience about this recent incident which involved a Gainesville police officer she was riding with. She described how he used derogatory words such as "faggot" in front of Hanrahan to describe a robbery victim that she and the officer perceived as being gay, and how he was later "going to wake him up" in the middle of the night. Hanrahan said: "The complainant didn't deserve to be treated that way. If that kind of treatment can happen in the presence of a city commissioner, I'm sure it can happen in many other ways in Gainesville." Gainesville joins other Florida cities such as West Palm Beach, Miami Beach, Tampa and Key West, and Broward and Palm Beach counties which already have antidiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation. Residents of more than 140 cities and counties and 10 states around the country -- nearly a quarter of the nation's population -- already are covered under such laws. There is no federal law which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. -30- ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Human Rights Council of North Central Florida PO Box 2112 Gainesville FL 32602 352-372-5192 email: hrcncf@afn.org ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign off of GLB-NEWS send the command SIGNOFF GLB-NEWS to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM