The Florida
senate commerce committee approved a bill that would
prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians in
housing, employment, and public accommodations.
The Florida
senate commerce committee approved a bill that would
prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians in
housing, employment, and public accommodations.
Introduced in 2007 by Democrat Ted Deutch, the
measure was passed on a vote of 7–1, with
one abstention, on Tuesday. Four Republicans and three
Democrats affirmed the bill.
While the
proposed law does not include protections for transgender
Floridians, Palm Beach County Human Rights Council president
Rand Hoch said in a statement that attaching gender
identity to the bill would kill it before it reached
the floor. However, the organization approached Rep.
Kelly Skidmore to introduce a transgender-inclusive bill
into the house, thereby adopting a two-bill strategy.
"It is easy for
politically correct people who do not have a clue
on how laws are made in Florida to attack the two-bill
strategy," Hoch said Tuesday in a press release. "But
today's bipartisan vote shows that the two-bill
strategy is working."
The bill's only
Republican cosponsor is senate president Jeff Atwater.
(The Advocate)
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