Florida Agenda

WILTON MANORS, FL – Sidelines Sports Bar’s owner, Laurie Whittaker, and her partner of thirty-one years, Jennifer Morales, have been named as this year’s recipients of the prestigious Jamie Bloodworth Award by the Board of Directors of The Dolphin Democrats.

According to the by-laws of the Dolphin Democrat, each year the Board of Directors presents the Jamie Bloodworth Leadership Award to any self-identifying female who has shown excellence in leadership and/or sponsorship of issues improving the human rights

of the GLBT community at large.

“We are incredibly honored and proud to receive this award. When we opened Sidelines Sports Bar over five years ago, our focus was as business people working hard to be successful while giving back to our community. It was never our intent to receive such accolades and high praises, but it certainly is nice to be recognized in this way. Thanks must also go to an incredible staff of dedicated and hard working people who each day step up and make us look good!” stated Whittaker.

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL – Ron Mills, president of the Dolphin Democrats, issued a statement on the repeal of the ban on openly-gay members serving in the military:

“Our nation was founded on the concept of equality for all, and yet equality for gay and lesbian Americans is still a work in progress. Today, with the end of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ those gay and lesbian Americans who wish to serve their country without hiding their true identities finely have equality.

“As Commander in Chief, I have always been confident that our dedicated men and women in uniform would transition to a new policy in an orderly manner that preserves unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness,” President Obama said in July. “As of September 20, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country.“

All ten of Florida’s congressional Democrats in the House voted to repeal the ban late last year, joined by Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart. We thank them for recognizing that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” had to go. We also thank Senator Bill Nelson for his vote against the ban.

“The Dolphin Democrats have been out front in fighting for repeal, working with the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus and National Stonewall Democrats. But this should not be seen as a partisan victory – rather, it is a victory shared by all Americans that underscores our true values.

“There are still many more key pieces of legislation lingering in Washington guaranteeing the LGBT community is ensured equality, but today we will celebrate the repeal of the discriminatory ban on openly gay men and women serving in the military.