Florida Agenda

WILTON MANORS — An alleged assault on two gay employees at the Wilton Manors nightclub Boom—in which the assailants themselves are members of the LGBT community—is being called a hate crime. According to witnesses, in the early morning hours of December 6, Jeff Coons, a bartender at Boom, and Chris Burdekin, the club’s general manager, [...]

Haulover Clothing-Optional Beach in the Crosshairs MIAMI — Just as LGBT politicians are fond of saying there’s no “gay way” to fix a pothole, the gay naturists of Haulover Park’s nude beach don’t see a gay—or “naturist”—way to park a car. Fearing that plans for a new boat house would use up the limited available [...]

WASHINGTON, DC — On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the charged debate over same-sex marriage by agreeing to review two court challenges to federal and state legislation that restricts the legal definition of marriage to the union between a man and a woman. The justices announced that they would not only review the [...]

FORT LAUDERDALE – The 9th Annual SMART Ride began on Friday morning, November 16, with the participants in the two-day event to support the fight against HIV/AIDS assembling at 4 a.m. for a Ride Day orientation, and a 5 a.m. breakfast, just before the official gun-time of 6:40 a.m. On Thursday, November 15, the riders, [...]

REJECTED: Amendment 1 (HEALTH CARE SERVICES) Proposed to preserve the freedom of Florida residents to provide for their own health care by: 1) ensuring that any person, employer, or health care provider is not compelled to participate in any health care system; 2) authorizing a person or employer to pay directly, without using a third [...]

FORT LAUDERDALE – On Tuesday, Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti was defeated in his bid for a second full term, losing to challenger and former North Bay Village (Miami-Dade County) Police Chief Scott Israel. Israel had earlier lost in a 2008 bid against Lamberti, Broward’s single-and-now-former sole Republican election official. In that contest, Lamberti, a [...]

Minnesota and Washington State Initiatives Also Look Promising Voters in Maine and Maryland have approved measures in support of marriage equality. In Maine, voters changed course for a second time concerning same-sex marriage, but made history with their countrymen in Maryland by becoming the first states to approve gay marriage at the ballot box. A [...]

TALLAHASSEE — Three justices of the Florida Supreme Court won their retention ballots during Tuesday’s election. With approximately two-thirds of precincts reporting, Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis, and Justices Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince each led approximately 67 percent to 33 percent. The move to retain the justices was a rejection to efforts by the [...]