Florida Senate Democrats Push Anti-Discrimination Bills

TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Democrats in the Florida Senate say the state needs new anti-discrimination laws to protect gays, former felons and pregnant women.

The senators also told a Tallahassee press conference Friday that they want mandatory paid sick leave for workers.

The majority Republicans have refused to pass several of the measures, but Sen. Arthenia Joyner of Tampa said Democrats will keep trying.

Sen. Joe Abruzzo of Boynton Beach said a bill adding sex and gender orientation to current anti-discrimination laws is backed by some top employers including Walt Disney World, Florida Blue and CSX railway.

Sen. Chris Smith of Fort Lauderdale wants to establish a law enforcement academy for minorities at Edward Waters College to provide minority police recruits.

The Republicans have a sizeable majority in both houses of the Florida Legislature.

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Major survey shows most Americans support same-sex marriage

WASHINGTON (AP) – In the late 1980s, support for gay marriage was essentially unheard of in America. Just a quarter century later, it’s now favored by clear majority of Americans.

That dramatic shift in opinion is among the fastest changes ever measured by the General Social Survey, a comprehensive and widely respected survey that has measured trends on a huge array of American attitudes for more than four decades.

Support for a right of same-sex couples to marry has risen 8 percentage points in the past two years and jumped 45 points since the question was first asked in 1988, when only 11 percent of Americans said they agreed with the idea. The survey now finds that only a third of Americans are opposed to gay marriage.

The largest shift in support since 2012 has come among Republicans, just under half of whom – 45 percent – now support marriage rights for same-sex couples. That’s a jump of 14 percentage points since 2012.

“Many things don’t change a lot. Most things change very slowly,” said Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey. “This is one of the most impressive changes we’ve measured.”

The General Social Survey is conducted by NORC, an independent research organization based at the University of Chicago, with funding from the National Science Foundation. It is a highly regarded source of data about social trends because of its long-running and comprehensive set of questions about the demographics and attitudes of the American public.

Data from the 2014 survey was released this week, and an analysis of its findings on gay marriage was conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the General Social Survey.

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Alabama Bill Seeks Protection For Judges Who Won’t Marry Gay Couples

MONTGOMERY (AP) – As Alabama wrestles over the issue of same-sex marriage, some lawmakers are seeking legal protections for judges, ministers and others who refuse to officiate at, or recognize, weddings that violate their religious beliefs.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 9-4 on Thursday to pass the bill, which is part of the House Republican caucus agenda for the session. Proponents said the bill is needed so people won’t face lawsuits for refusing to go against their religious beliefs, while critics said it would legalize discrimination.

Republican Rep. Jim Hill said he has gotten phone calls from ministers and probate judges who are concerned they will be forced to marry gay couples at some point in the future.

“This bill has nothing to do with the couple. This bill strictly speaks to the rights of the individual asked to perform the ceremony,” Hill said.

The bill states that no person is “required to solemnize a marriage for any person or persons.” The legislation does not specifically mention same-sex weddings. It gives civil immunity to churches, ministers, society organizations and other religious-affiliated groups for refusal to recognize, or solemnize, a marriage.

“It enshrines discrimination,” said Paul Hard, an opponent of the bill.

Alabama is the latest state to take up “religious liberty” bills regarding weddings and marriage in advance of the U.S. Supreme Court settling the question of whether the U.S. Constitution gives gay couples nationwide a fundamental right to marry.

The North Carolina Senate last month passed a bill that would let government officials opt out of duties related to same-sex marriages due to religious beliefs. The Georgia Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would forbid state government from infringing on a person’s religious beliefs unless the government can prove it has a compelling interest.

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Georgia Senate OK’s Religious Freedom Bill Feared By LGBT Groups

ATLANTA (AP) – The Georgia Senate gave decisive approval Thursday to a contentious “religious freedom” bill – one of a wave of measures surfacing in at least a dozen states that critics say could provide legal cover for discrimination against gays and transgender people.

The Georgia bill would forbid state government from infringing on a person’s religious beliefs unless the government can prove it has a compelling interest. Sponsor state Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, called that a “bright line” and said it is closely modeled on a national religious freedom law passed in 1993.

The proposal’s fate in the House is uncertain; a similar bill remains in a committee in the chamber.

The Georgia legislation has sparked protests in the Capitol rotunda and pitted clergy members against one another. Former Republican Attorney General Mike Bowers, who years ago defended the state’s anti-sodomy law, recently came out against the bill. He called it “deserving of a quick death.” It was also denounced by national gay-rights groups.

“It does not address any legitimate problem with current law and creates harmful consequences for businesses throughout the state,” said Marty Rouse, field director for the Human Rights Campaign.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, similar bills have been introduced this year in more than a dozen states as conservatives brace for a possible U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.

State Sen. Elena Parent, an Atlanta Democrat who voted against the bill, suggested that’s the motivation for the number of bills filed in recent years. She said the U.S. Constitution already provides protection for religious people.

“We have to ensure in our capacity as lawmakers that the pendulum, doesn’t swing too far the other way in the name of religion,” Parent said.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert is a Republican whose attempt to attach a nondiscrimination amendment to the bill in committee stalled its path to the floor vote. He said Thursday he was instead satisfied with language added specifying the state has an interest in eradicating discrimination.

“This is not a vehicle for discrimination,” Cowsert said, later describing the issue as “one of those fascinating areas where you have competing constitutional rights.”

Religious-exemption measures recently failed to advance out of legislative committees in Arkansas and South Dakota, while a similar bill was approved by the Indiana Senate on Feb. 24. The North Carolina Senate recently approved a bill that would allow judicial officials to opt out of duties related to same-sex marriage if they object due to religious beliefs. An Alabama legislative committee on Thursday approved a bill seeking legal protections for judges, ministers and others who refuse to officiate at, or recognize, weddings that violate their religious beliefs.

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Appeals Court Allows Nebraska Gay Marriage Ban To Stand

OMAHA (AP) – A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed Nebraska’s ban on gay marriage to stay in place, blocking a federal judge’s order for the state to begin recognizing gay marriages and civil unions.

The decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means that Nebraska’s ban will continue until an appeal in the case is decided. Had the appeals court denied the request, Nebraska would have been ordered to recognize gay marriages and civil unions starting Monday.

The appeals court did not give a reason for its decision to stay the judge’s ruling. But the 8th Circuit did order the appeal in Nebraska’s case to be argued on May 12 along with three other states – Arkansas, Missouri and South Dakota – defending gay marriage bans.

The appeals court decision came two days after Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson filed a motion to put on hold U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Bataillon’s ruling last Monday striking down Nebraska’s gay marriage ban.

Peterson had argued that the state should not be forced to recognize gay marriages until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will hear arguments over same-sex marriage on April 28. A decision is expected before July.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska sued the state in November on behalf of seven same-sex couples challenging the ban, which had passed with the approval of 70 percent of voters in 2000. In addition to prohibiting gay marriage, Nebraska’s ban also forbids civil unions and legalized domestic partnerships.

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Wellesley College To Admit Transgender Students

WELLESLEY (AP) – Wellesley College in Massachusetts is joining a growing list of women’s colleges that accept transgender students.

President H. Kim Bottomly and trustees’ chairwoman Laura Daignault Gates said in a letter Wednesday to the campus community that “Wellesley will consider for admission any applicant who lives as a woman and consistently identifies as a woman.”

Women who identify as men are not eligible for admission.

The policy is expected to be in place for the next admission cycle for the class of 2020.

The policy approved by trustees Wednesday came after Bottomly formed a committee last fall to study educational, social, legal and medical considerations about gender identity.

Mount Holyoke and Simmons in Massachusetts as well as Mills College in California also have policies addressing the admission of transgender students.

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