Florida Senate
Committee OK's Non-Trans ENDA

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)