FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—A measure introduced by Comm. Dean Trantalis, which openly supports marriage equality as well as gay rights, passed a commission vote late Tuesday night 3-2. Voting for the measure were Comm. Bruce G. Roberts (Dist. 1), Dean Trantalis (Dist. 2), and Comm. Bobby D. DuBose (Dist. 3). Voting against the measure were Mayor Jack Seiler and Vice-Mayor Romney Rogers.

The measure, officially labeled Resolution No. 14, called for the city commission of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to go on the record as officially supporting marriage equality, urging enactment of a law that would provide for marriage equality in the state of Florida, and providing for rescission of conflicting provisions and an effective date when this might occurs.

It was a stunning victory for same-sex activists and liberals within the commission ranks that such a measure was able to be passed in Florida, a state without gay marriage rights. From the onset, it was obvious that those in favor of the measure were in the majority, with speeches made in its defense were often eloquent and moving.

While the resolution is non-binding, it does set the tone for future votes as well as the on-going court action demanding Florida recognize marriages preformed legally in other states.

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi committed what many consider political suicide by stating in publicly-filed court documents that recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states would disrupt existing marriage laws and “impose significant public harm” in Florida.

Bondi was responding to a lawsuit filed by eight gay couples and the American Civil Liberties Union who sued the state in federal court last March. The lawsuit does not ask for the right to have same-sex marriage legalized in Florida, but rather argues that the state is discriminating against the couples by not recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal.

Bondi is asking the lawsuit be thrown out by the courts, stating that a federal court has no jurisdiction over state law. Additionally, Bondi raised eyebrows and a slew of additional legal issues by the wording of her response to the Federal suit.

Florida initally banned same-sex marriages almost 20 years ago, and reinforced the ban via a constitutional amendment in 2008. “Florida’s marriage laws, then, have a close, direct, and rational relationship to society’s legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units,” Bondi’s office said in court documents.

While outlining no specific details, Bondi also suggested that there would be significant financial and logistical problems for the state’s pension and helath insurance programs if Florida recognized same-sex marriage performed in other states.

Daniel Tilley, the lead attorney for the ACLU of Florida countered, “Florida’s discriminatory laws cause serious harm to real families across the state. Despite the state’s assertion that the harms to same-sex married couples aren’t significant enough to warrant relief, the families living every day being treated like legal strangers by their home state know better.”

Governor Rick Scott, like Bondi a Republican, commented earlier in the year that he supports Florida’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, but confused the issue by adding the politically righteous statement that he “does not believe that anyone should be discriminated against for any reason.”

The lawsuit in Florida is part of a groundswell of public support in the gay marriage debate, including court challenges in every state that still bans same-sex marriages (with the exception of North Carolina where a suit is expected soon).

Several federal judges have previously ruled in support of same-sex marriage since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down part of the federal anti-gay marriage law.

The statement from Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin resonates with the entire country on this historical day: On June 26 2013, at roughly 10 a.m., The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8 were struck down by the Supreme Court. Chad Griffin brought together the bipartisan legal team of Ted Olson and David Boies that brought the Proposition 8 case to the Supreme Court.

Griffin went on to say, “While we celebrate the victory for Californians today, tomorrow we turn our attention to the millions of LGBT people who don’t feel the reach of these decisions. From the Rocky Mountains to the heart of the South, it’s time to push equality forward until every American can marry the person they love and all LGBT people are guaranteed equal protection under the law.”

According to CNN, by dismissing Prop 8, same-sex marriage will be reinstated in California in the coming days or weeks.

In a ruling of 5-4, it was simultaneously announced that DOMA was deemed unconstitutional. In the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, ”DOMA singles out a class of persons deemed by a State entitled to recognition and protection to enhance their own liberty.” This means that the federal government now recognizes same-sex marriage. According to The Washington Post, “Legally married same-sex couples where one member is employed by the federal government are entitled to spousal benefits, just the same as any other married couple. For other legally married couples who don’t live in states where same-sex marriage is recognized, there’s some question as to whether the ‘state of celebration’ or ‘state of residence’ matters. Usually, the former is the standard used, meaning a marriage is valid if it’s valid in the state it was celebrated. That would mean most legally married same-sex couples, regardless of where they got married, are entitled to spousal benefits. Other areas, like tax law, may require additional rule-making before same-sex couples are treated equally.”

The details are a little murky still, which should be explained further within the coming days and weeks.

While same-sex marriage is still illegal in the sunshine state, Equality Florida’s executive director, Nadine Smith, is hopeful:

“Today’s rulings are a major step forward for the country, but for Floridians they fall far short of justice and are more than anything a call to action. For those of us who live in state’s like Florida where our marriages are still not recognized, today’s rulings are a reminder that we cannot wait for justice to be handed to us, we are going to have to get engaged and fight.”

The event, produced by Bobby Rodriguez Productions, features entertainment from hundreds of performers on 12 stages, mounted performers jousting on horseback, sword fighters, minstrels, magicians, wenches, and over 100 merchants and artisans demonstrating and selling their wares, including blown glass, hammered pewter, wooden toys, unique pottery, and clothing.

Barry Feinstein and David Gilmore were at home watching television when a fire broke out that quickly spread to the carport of their Northwest 28 Court house. A car that was parked in the structure also caught fire, causing a loud explosion which alerted the couple to the blaze, which also struck a nearby tree and fence.

Feinstein, 63, and Gilmore, 60—a couple for more than three decades—were awaiting the arrival of out-of-town friends when the fire started at around 12:50 a.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation, with the findings expected in up to several weeks.

Brian Denby is charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 to 15 years old, and two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition. Police had circulated an artist’s rendering of their suspect, which was posted around the community

Wilton Manors Police Sgt. Charles Howard told reporters that Denby encountered the teens sometime after 3 a.m. on January 7, after approaching the Kids in Distress facility. After talking with the underage victims, Denby jumped the fence and proceeded to perform sexual acts with two of the teens.

Surveillance cameras at Kids in Distress captured images of the man Howard identified as Denby walking near the shelter’s entrance, stopping to talk to the teens. Detectives say that witnesses reported him jumping the fence, and performing sexual acts with the two girls in the open.

The victims and witnesses did not inform shelter officials about the assaults until days later. Administrators alerted police once they were aware of the crimes. Howard said.

Kids in Distress serves approximately 10,000 children each year; many of them are homeless or the victims of neglect and abuse.

The victims, who were described as being in their early teens, are receiving counseling in a different care facility.

Howard told the Agenda that at least four other children witnessed the assaults. Investigators received an anonymous tip on Friday from someone who knows Denby. The informant told police that Denby had bragged about his assault upon the teens.

Detectives learned that their suspect was on a weekend cruise that had left the Port of Miami on Friday. When the ship docked on Monday morning, federal agents and Wilton Manors police were waiting for him.

Last week, administrators fired two child care workers who worked during the overnight shift for negligence in failing to keep tabs on the teenagers during the incident. Officials with the shelter say that because it is not a lock-down facility, the teens had access to the environs outside their living accommodations.  Nevertheless, the overnight care personnel should have been aware of the presence of a predator and been able to respond accordingly.

WILTON MANORS — What Boyd Corbin says what started as a joke has turned into anything but.

Corbin has been charged by the Broward State Attorney’s Office for an alleged Halloween assault on at Georgie’s Alibi on Michael Walters, who emcees at the popular nightclub under the professional name Florida’s Dame Edna.

Corbin, who was decked in KKK a outfit complete with a tiki torch, wooden cross and a sign that read “Stop the race war against whites: Vote for Romney,” has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery. If convicted on both charges, Corbin could be sentenced to a minimum of five years.

Corbin was arrested on Nov. 12 and has been out on bail ever since.

“I’m taking this deadly serious,” he told the Agenda.

But on Halloween night, he says he was just having a little fun and being ironic.

“Hey, it’s a joke. I’m a hundred percent Democrat and I support Obama.”

Walters, according to a Wilton Manors Police Department report, accuses Corbin of trying to light him on fire with the tiki torch. Walters also accuses Corbin of grabbing his wig and pulling Walters off the three-foot stage upon which he was hosting Alibi’s costume contest.

Walters declined to be interviewed but said in a statement that he sustained a leg injury “that hinders my daily life and my ability to do my job. I know little or nothing about Mr. Corbin and I have only seen him on the evening in question as he was assaulting me. I believe it’s only fair that the police investigate this matter and that the responsible party face[s] some sort of consequence for his wrongdoing. I’m thankful to the Wilton Manors Police Department for their swift and careful assistance.”

According to Corbin, Walters told him to put his torch out and then blew it out himself. After that, he says, Walters grabbed the torch and started “crushing” it. “I let him grab it. I didn’t move it at all,” said Corbin, who claims that he is the one who was assaulted.

“I stepped back and pulled harder. Instead of releasing my tiki torch, he stepped down off the stage and knocked my hat off. I pulled his wig off with two fingers and threw it on the floor.”

After that, Corbin says that Walters punched him, scratching his nose with one of his sharp rings. “I couldn’t back up any more so I pushed him with my left hand and he fell down for the first time. He was wearing high heels. He stood up and kicked me in the groin with his right leg. I blocked most of that kick and caught his knee with my left hand, and he fell down a second time.”

To represent him, Corbin has hired Fort Lauderdale attorney Thomas Morse and is urging anyone who saw the incident between him and Walters to contact him at (321) 278-1718, or his attorney at (954) 522-3205.

Trantalis and Rodstrom finished ahead of Chuck Black and Lester Zalewski in a special election that drew fewer than 2,500 voters.

The road to the runoff between Rodstrom and Trantalis began when the latter, an LGBT rights advocate and attorney with a practice based in Wilton Manors, left the District 2 seat after serving a single term from 2003 to 2006.

Rodstrom succeeded Trantalis as District 2 commissioner, and won two additional terms, the last one in January 2012.  Weeks later, she announced that she would run for the Broward County Commission seat being vacated by her term-limited husband, former Broward Mayor John Rodstrom, a move that drew sharp criticism and accusations of careerism.

Because of Florida’s resign-to-run law, passed in 1970, Rodstrom was required to give up her city commission seat in November, having already lost the race county commission seat in August.

In Tuesday’s matchup, the results with all precincts reporting showed Rodstrom with 1,154 votes (47 percent) and Trantalis with 1,026 votes (42 percent). Black in third and Zalewski in fourth place, respectively, garnered a total of 291 votes, or 12 percent combined.

Because no candidate netted a required 50 percent of the vote-plus-one, the runoff between Trantalis and Rodstrom will be held on March 12.

“The results from yesterday have shown that we can win this race,” Trantalis told the Agenda.

He also blamed lackluster media coverage of the District 2 race for apathy at the polls. “The lack of attention given to the election by the gay press is reflected in the poor turnout of LGBT voters. We should be ashamed of ourselves for being so complacent.

“At a time when our rights are continually being challenged, our failure to support candidates in high profile positions will only lead to our personal defeat,” Trantalis added. “We seemed obsessed with national figures and their personal lives and personal tastes. A lot of good that will do us. We cannot let down our guard in our struggle for equal rights. Our success lies right here at home.”

“We collected over 1,500 toys, distributed to 6 different organizations and many families,” stated Ronni Dowd, Chairperson of this year’s Toy Drive. “We collected almost $1,000 in cash donations and sponsorships and had a dozen volunteers,” she added. “We had donation boxes placed in more than 20 different locations throughout Broward County.”

In its seventh year, the event benefited Thurgood Marshall Elementary, Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center, and other area agencies.

“It’s been a privilege to be associated with such a hard working group of volunteers,” said Donna Woessner, the coordinator of the Pride Center’s Women with Pride project. “Each one of us had the kids in mind as we began the Drive. And each one of us had Judy’s voice in our head as we delivered toys and bikes and love.”

In that role, Gray will develop strategies to increase global travel and tourism to Greater Fort Lauderdale.

“The CVB has just created a unique position which is strictly for LGBT tourism: we are so pleased they have appointed Richard Gray,” said Keith Blackburn, President of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (GFLGLCC), whose organization has spearheaded a number of initiatives to attract global LGBT tourists and commerce to the area.

Gray explained that Greater Fort Lauderdale has the only CVB that has created a unique marketing position with a focus on the LGBT market, and that his “role is the only full time position to be dedicated to LGBT tourism. This is an important step.”