FORT
LAUDERDALE,
Fla.
—
An
anti-discrimination
bill
that
would
have
added
sexual
orientation
as
a
protected
class
under
the
Florida
Civil
Rights
Act
was
brought
to
a
halt
in
the
Florida
Senate
on
April
23,
according
to
Express
Gay
News,
a
Southern
Voice
sister
paper
in
Fort
Lauderdale.
The
bill,
sponsored
by
Sen.
Ted
Deutch
(D-Delray
Beach),
had
a
breakthrough
moment
last
month
when
Sen.
Jeff
Atwater
(R-North
Palm
Beach)
agreed
to
co-sponsor
it.
Atwater,
the
bill’s
first
Republican
sponsor,
was
influential
in
getting
the
bill
heard
in
the
Senate’s
Commerce
Committee
on
April
8.
The
bill
passed
the
committee
with
a
7-1
vote,
but
it
failed
to
get
scheduled
for
a
hearing
in
the
Senate
Community
Affairs
Committee.
On
April
23,
Senate
President
Ken
Pruitt
instructed
legislators
to
stop
working
on
bills
whose
companion
bills
are
stalled
in
the
House
of
Representatives.
The
Deutch
bill’s
companion,
sponsored
by
Kelly
Skidmore
(D-Boca
Raton),
which
includes
gender
identity
and
expression,
failed
to
get
a
hearing
in
the
House.
In
a
debate
that
mirrored
the
national
ENDA
debate
in
Congress,
gay
rights
and
civil
rights
organizations
were
split
on
whether
to
support
the
Deutch
bill.
Equality
Florida
and
ACLU
urged
legislators
to
oppose
the
bill
because
it
was
not
fully
inclusive
like
the
Skidmore
bill
in
the
House.
Meanwhile,
the
Palm
Beach
Human
Rights
Council
continued
to
lobby
for
its
passage.
Deutch’s
legislative
aides
said
the
bill’s
movement
through
one
committee
means
that
Deutch
will
likely
sponsor
a
similar
bill
next
year.
It’s
not
clear
whether
he
will
re-introduce
it
with
additional
protections
covering
gender
identity
and
expression.
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
