Blog

(Tallahassee) After eight years of effort on the part of hundreds of students, parents, educators and civil rights groups, the Florida Safe Schools Coalition celebrates the passage today of a statewide anti-bullying bill. During today’s unanimous vote, Senators zeroed in on the issue of whether the broad prohibition on bullying requires schools to address specific forms of harassment, including anti-gay bullying.

Long Overdue Bill Comes Amid Assurances thatAll Forms of Bullying are Prohibited (Tallahassee) By a unanimous vote, the Florida House of Representatives today passed a statewide Safe Schools bill that, bill sponsors say, will prohibit all forms of harassment including bullying targeted at students based on their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical appearance, disability, and religion.

(Tallahassee) Advocates for Florida seniors today called on voters to DEFEAT Amendment 2, the so-called Florida “Marriage Protection” Amendment. The measure that denies benefits to unmarried Floridians will hit seniors particularly hard, according to the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans.

I could tell you about my first time to Tallahassee as a lobbist, the eye-opening experience, the stimulation of being in the vortex of Florida government. But, that has already been well discribed in other volunteer's writings.

For a straight grandmother who had never ventured beyond writing letters to the editor or signing online petitions, Lobby Week in Tallahassee was nothing short of a revelation and a transformative experience. I felt very shy walking into the training meeting Sunday night (I made my daughter and her fiancé come with me for support), but everyone – EQFL staff, local workers and volunteers -- made me welcome. I was taken in hand by experienced activists who explained the specifics of our mission and the ins and outs (and do’s and don’ts) of lobbying.

Amendment 2 Opponents Renew Effort to Protect All Families (St. Petersburg) Today, Equality Florida launched the Undo 2 Campaign, an effort to ensure that all of Florida’s families receive the protections they deserve. In the wake of last week’s election and the devastating passage of Amendment 2, the newly launched campaign will work to guarantee that gay couples and unmarried partners are not treated as second-class citizens in Florida.

Safe Schools bill has a chance, but others will likely die without hearings By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ Thursday, March 13, 2008

http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=17122 Fla. politicians coy on amendment stance Will conservative Sen. Martinez oppose anti-gay measure?By CHRIS JOHNSON, The Washington Blade | Mar 12, 1:33 PM Some of Florida’s senior politicians are being surprisingly coy about where they stand on the state’s November ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in the constitution.

http://www.lobbytools.com/article.cfm?aid=12215170&keyword=Equality%20F…

A letter to Sally Kern from a senior in high school in Oklahoma.*******Note: This letter was found in the comment section of an Oklahoma media outlet. The identity of Tucker has not been verified. *******Today my nephew attempted to deliver a letter to Sally Kern but was stopped by a highway patrol man. With his permission I am distributing the letter to all news stations and thought I would include it here.

http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2277.html

Gay American Heroes Foundationwww.gayamericanheroes.com Silent Protest at Mayor's Prayer Breakfast -FTL

Thank you Jacksonville! On March 2nd, 2008, about 40 Equality Florida supporters attended the 2nd Annual Jacksonville EQFL Reception and were able to raise $30,000 for Florida’s only statewide LGBT advocacy organization. The weather could not have been more perfect for an outdoor event and the setting was in the beautiful home of Leanne Perez and Eyleen Guerra on the Southside of Jacksonville.

Time to Stop Hatred and ViolenceBy Nadine Smith We can be horrified, but we cannot be surprised. Witness the death of yet another child who said he was gay — the murder of another teenager who defied gender stereotypes.

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/02/a_tragedy_that_should_never_ha.php

(Ft. Lauderdale) Today, Equality Florida and the coalition Transgender Equality Rights Initiatives (TERI) expressed outrage over the murder of Simmie Williams Jr., a gay 17 year-old who was gunned down this past weekend on a street corner in Broward County. Police are investigating the murder as a possible hate crime based on the words witnesses say were exchanged before the shooting.

On Saturday, February 16th, I attended a social night at the Jasmyn house and spoke with the youth about Equality Florida and the many issues we work on throughout the year. Most of the conversation/presentation was to let the youth also know about Lobby Days which is happening in Tallahassee on March 17th-20th. Several of the attendees signed up to attend lobby days and will be speaking with legislators about the Safe Schools bill. I am sure that Jacksonville will have another strong presence again this year at lobby days in Tallahassee!