By STRATTON POLLITZER,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR EQUALITY FLORIDA
What a year! 2010 has been the most historically significant year yet in the fight for full equality for Florida’s LGBT community. And while a disappointing election season means we face some new challenges, as long as our community keeps fighting, we will continue to carve out victories in 2011.
Topping the list this year was the overturning of Florida’s notorious ban on gay and lesbian adoption. On Sept. 22 the Third District Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that there is “no rational basis to prohibit gay parents from adopting” and that the anti-gay adoption ban was unconstitutional.
While the ACLU fought an outstanding legal battle in the courtroom, Equality Florida has worked in the legislature and the court of public opinion for the past seven years to shift hearts and minds in favor of ending the ban. At our urging, Gov. Crist and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) quit enforcing the ban immediately following the court ruling and did not appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, which would have delayed a final decision for years and where the outcome was uncertain.
The day after the ruling came down, DCF sent an agency-wide memo instructing staff that, “You are no longer to ask prospective adoptive parents whether they are heterosexual, gay or lesbian, nor are you to use this as a factor in determining the suitability of applicants to adopt. Focus your attention on the quality of parenting that prospective adoptive parents would provide, and their commitment to and love for our children.”
This year we continued to win local victories, including adding sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression protections to Orange County’s (Orlando) and Leon County’s (Tallahassee) human rights ordinances. With 5.5 million people protected, Florida ranks fifth in the country. And we expanded protections for LGBT students with a new anti-bullying policy in Hillsborough County (Tampa). With 1.1 million students protected, Florida ranks sixth in the nation.
We also continued to gain recognition for our families with domestic partnership victories in St. Petersburg and Kissimmee. One in three Floridians now has access to DP benefits. And Florida leads the south with 25 openly LGBT elected officials, including Craig Lowe, who we helped elect as the first openlygay mayor in north Florida last April.
And although the November elections were disappointing, we won the most important contest on this year’s ballot – fair districts. Record majorities of Floridians now stand with us on nearly every issue we fight for. But the reason this support has not always translated into victories at the ballot box is that Florida’s voting districts are drawn to dramatically favor the party in power, which leads to extremism. Amendments 5 & 6 will forever change how districts are drawn in Florida and will create a more balanced government that actually reflects where our state stands on LGBT issues.
TOP GOALS IN 2011 – “Keep Winning and Never Go Back”
Our top priority for 2011 is to protect the adoption victory.
The same anti-gay extremists who pushed for Florida’s anti-marriage amendment in 2008 have already announced their intention to seek a ballot measure putting this discriminatory adoption ban into our state constitution in 2012. This is not only a threat for children and families in Florida, but a victory here would embolden further measures in other states across the country.
Our years of experience in fighting the adoption ban have taught us that when people understand that this ban literally tore families apart and prevented children from achieving their dream of being adopted, they are ready to fight to keep this injustice from returning.
Victory will require a statewide grassroots effort, a strong media campaign and a volunteer army ready to engage Florida voters.
As a new and uncertain legislative session begins, our staff and volunteer teams are focused on the following priorities for 2011:
• Build bipartisan and business support for the Florida Competitive Workforce Act, a bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s civil rights law.
• Build support for stronger recognition of domestic partnerships through a statewide bill, local DP policies, and public and private employer benefits.
• Continue our 13-year record of defeating every anti-LGBT bill in Tallahassee We are at a turning point in our civil rights struggle, and full legal equality for the LGBT community is closer than it has ever been.
Our job is to hasten its arrival.
Visit www.EQFL.org and become a member today.