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While Pensacola City Council stalls, Jacksonville outlaws discrimination against the LGBT community

   Published Date: February 15, 2017  2 Comments on While Pensacola City Council stalls, Jacksonville outlaws discrimination against the LGBT community

In a historic moment for gay rights advocates, the Jacksonville City Council yesterday outlawed discrimination against the LGBT community.

Meanwhile the Pensacola effort, which began over two years ago, has stalled.

In September 2015, the American Civil Liberty Union, with the sponsorship of Councilman Brian Spencer a proposed human rights or anti- discrimination ordinance that would afford Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LBGT) individuals the same civil rights protections as other legally recognized minorities within the city of Pensacola.

The ordinance was tabled and a workshop.

In November 2015, the Council might for five hours. Russell Van Sickle from the Beggs and Lane Law Firm provided a legal overview of the current federal and state laws that deal with LGBT claims of discrimination. Ninety citizens offered their opinions.

The Council members then weighed in:

Council President Andy Terhaar wanted to see an administrative process included in the ordinance.

Councilwoman Sherri Myers also expressed a need of an administrative process and an enforcement mechanism within the ordinance.

Councilman Brian Spencer stated that “time is of the essence” and wants the city attorney and staff to move quickly on finalizing language so the council can vote on this ordinance soon.

Councilman Larry Johnson said he didn’t want to see this issue take as long as the food truck ordinance.

Councilman Charles Bare raised the possibility of taking the ordinance to referendum.

Councilman Gerald Wingate wanted to see the final version of the ordinance before stating a position.

Unfortunately, Councilman Johnson didn’t get his wish.

The last we heard was in May 2016 when Councilman Spencer told us: “Since the workshop, the ACLU has been reworking the most recent version of the ordinance (drafted by City Attorney Lysia Bowling) to incorporate the framework of the Florida Civil Rights Act. I envision additional collaboration involving the community before the ordinance is reintroduced.”

2 thoughts on “While Pensacola City Council stalls, Jacksonville outlaws discrimination against the LGBT community”

  1. Meanwhile…The recently passed HRO…(legally invalid).

    http://lc.org/030117JacksonvilleComplaintFinal.pdf

    ** press conference at the courthouse this morning at 10:30 AM to introduce the lawsuit.

    Plaintiff brings this action to declare null and void, and enjoin enforcement of,Ordinance 2017-15-E, the so-called “Human Rights Ordinance” or “HRO,” as having been adopted in violation of Florida Statutes, the Jacksonville Ordinance Code, and the Rules of the Council of the City of Jacksonville

    The numerous violations of state and local law contained in the HRO are not the result of mere careless draftsmanship. Rather, the violations result from the intentional omission of plain and obvious legal requirements, by the ordinance authors and sponsors, to deceive the Jacksonville public, City Council, and Mayor as to the true contents and scope of the HRO.11 The principal author of the HRO confessed, “I did write a new version of the bill that was only five pages long and worked with some of the top lawyers and law firms in the city to get it into a form that was the product of what we’d learned since 2012 about how to message . . . .”Jimmy Midyette shares ups and downs of emotional five-year journey to HRO victory,

  2. Imagine a day without the talented, hardworking LBGTA ctizens in Pensacola. From the city staff to the person serving you dinner. Just saying…

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