The Florida Legislature meets once a year for 60 days to address the needs of our state. Bills can be filed by Representatives and Senators for consideration during the session.
This past March 17, 2015, former Marine and current Florida Representative Frank Artiles, a Republican out of Miami, sponsored bill HB 583 that would ban all transgender Floridian’s from using the same bathroom as the sex they identify with. The bill has officially made its way through the Florida House Government Operations Subcommittee, which Artiles chair’s, and was approved with a 7-5 vote.
In Florida, once a bill passes an individual subcommittee, it is filed and than reviewed by other committees. Committees have several options when considering a bill. They can approve the bill. They can defeat the bill. Or they can chose to amend the bill. If a bill is defeated in committee, that idea is dead for the rest of the session. If a bill passes each of the committees to which it is assigned, it is then available to be voted on by the entire body of members. Each bill must be passed by both chambers before it becomes law. If both chambers approve the bill, it goes to the Governor’s office for consideration. The Governor can sign the bill, allow it to become law without his signature, or veto the bill. If the Governor veto’s the bill, the Legislature can overturn it the next time they meet by a two-thirds vote of both chambers.
What’s interesting is Artiles filed the bill over his concerns about public safety and in response to a Miami-Dade County ordinance passed Dec. 2, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. Artiles stated: “It’s not that the transgender or the gender identity community is dangerous by any means,” . . . “but [the ordinance] creates a giant loophole for criminals, sexual deviants and sexual predators to walk into a shower, a woman’s locker room under the cover of law.” “A man such as myself can walk into the bathroom at LA Fitness while women are taking showers, changing, and simply walk in there. Someone can say, ‘What are you doing there?’ Under the ordinance, I don’t have to respond. It’s subjective. If I feel like a woman that day, I can be allowed to be in that locker room. I don’t know about you, but I find that disturbing.”
If that isn’t enough, the bill would also create penalties for businesses, schools and governments that don’t have adequate surveillance for same-sex bathroom facilities.
What’s interesting to note is the tremendous amount of backlash that the bill received from other lawmakers. Many called it a total waste of time, money and human resources.
But members of the LGBT community should remember Frank Artiles name the next time he runs for re-election, we can put this gender bashing zealot back out on the street where he belongs.
