Florida Agenda

TALLAHASSEE – As reported last week in the Agenda ( July 18, “IS SHE, OR ISN’T SHE? Ex-Staffer Claims She Found Florida Lt Gov in ‘Compromising Position’ with Female Aide”), Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll is in the center of a political firestorm, accused by a former aide who says she discovered Carroll in an intimate embrace with a different female employee.

The lieutenant governor strongly denied the charges of a gay work-related affair, telling an interviewer that “black women that look like me don’t engage in relationships like that.” The lieutenant governor also emailed a video to supporters, denying the lesbian rumor.

LGBT advocates condemned Carroll’s flippant remarks. “As a proud Lesbian, I was outraged when [Carroll] perpetuated homophobic social stigma to defend herself from accusations surrounding an alleged inappropriate sexual liaison with her female travel aide,” said Sally Phillips, President of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus. “Lesbians are your daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts and grandmothers.

They have the same strong capacity to love, to nurture a family and to compete in the workplace as any other human being of either gender,” she added.

TALLAHASSEE – On Tuesday, the Equality Florida Institute celebrated its 15th Anniversary Gala at the Old Capitol museum in Tallahassee.

The Institute was established to secure full equality for Florida’s LGBT population. The event also honored Jessica Lowe- Minor, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Florida.

“Jessica has been a pioneer in finding new ways to give voice and visibility to the LGBT community,” said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida. “She is a steadfast supporter of equal rights for all and a leading voice in Tallahassee for women, LGBT rights and basic fairness in public policy.”

Proceeds for the evening, which included a suggested $100 donation from each guest, benefited the not-forprofit organization.

The honoree, Lowe-Minor, is a former legislative advocate for the National Organization for Women (NOW), as well as the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates.

She was recognized by Smith for her outspoken advocacy of LGBT issues, and for her opposition to Florida’s most anti-gay laws.

By CLIFF DUNN

TALLAHASSEE, FL – The custody battle between two gay Florida women could have far-reaching consequences for both state law and the cultural definition of what it means to be a mother.

The two women, who have been identified in court papers only by their initials, were partners for 11 years. In 2004, nine years into their relationship, one of the women gave birth utilizing an egg from the other woman that had been fertilized and implanted. Two years later, the Brevard County women, who were both police officers, separated. The birth mother left the state in 2006, taking the child–a girl–with her. They eventually moved to Australia.

A trial judge ruled last year that under state law, the biological mother—the woman who donated the fertilized egg—holds no parental rights. The judge added that he hoped his ruling would be overturned. In due course,  the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach overturned the decision, ruling that parental rights were held by both women.

The issue now finds itself before the Florida Supreme Court, although the justices have not announced whether or not they will hear the case. At the heart of the debate is legislation passed in 1993 by state lawmakers to define and regulate sperm and egg donation. But there is also the added complication  of the rights of gays and lesbians to adopt and raise children under the law’s equal protection measures. In 2010, a separate appeals court ruled that Florida’s ban on gay adoption
is unconstitutional.

These issues, while framing much of the social debate now and in the months to come, make no difference  to the biological mother, whose attorney says is solely interested in reuniting with the child she hasn’t seen since 2005.

“She hasn’t seen her daughter in years,” said Robert Segal, a Melbourne-based family law attorney. “It’s been terribly, terribly difficult for her.”

TALLAHASSEE, FL – In an attempt to make bestiality illegal in the State of Florida, a poorly worded law that passed the Florida Senate and took effect on October 1 accidently makes having sexual relations totally illegal. This includes male-male sex, female-female sex, male-female sex.

The statute bans certain unapproved sex acts involving “animals” and scientists have noted that humans are animals so the statute also bans sex acts involving humans.

It is unknown how much of a problem bestiality in the State of Florida was to begin with or how many new jobs will be created in Florida by outlawing sex.

TALLAHASSEE, FL – A bill that would provide domestic partnership protections to committed couples throughout Florida has been filed in both chambers of the legislature. State Rep. Mark Pafford (D-West Palm Beach) filed the Domestic Partnerships Act (HB-139) last week in the House. Senator Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood) is the Senate sponsor.

The filing comes as more local municipalities have adopted these vital workplace protections that are often the only means for gay couples to get health care benefits.

“It is only sensible that we do all we can to attract and retain the best and brightest to work in Florida and to grow businesses here,” Rep. Pafford said. “By recognizing domestic partnerships, we will take a leap forward in improving our economy and the manner in which our residents are treated. It makes good economic sense, it is sound personnel policy, and it is the right thing to do.”
Florida currently ranks 7th in the nation, with 6.7 million people living in communities that recognize domestic partnerships. Rep. Pafford’s bill would make these protections and responsibilities available to all couples statewide.

Nearly 60% of Fortune 500 companies and a majority of Florida’s universities offer domestic partner benefits in order to attract and retain the best and brightest employees.

“ Equality Florida

is proud to work with Rep. Pafford and Sen. Sobel to provide these important protections to Florida’s domestic partners, gay and straight,” said Mallory Wells, public policy director for Equality Florida. “Equality Florida has also been working with municipalities across the state, as well as private employers, including Pepsico, Citibank, BlueCross BlueShield of Florida and Wells Fargo, who offer domestic partner benefits because they recognize that workplace inequities create obstacles to attracting and retaining top talent.”

The Domestic Partnerships Act would grant individuals in a domestic partnership the same benefits and responsibilities currently available through marriage.

The Senate version of the bill is SB 166. “I’m proud to have filed this bill over the past three years to draw attention to disparities in the workplace. Equality Florida has done a remarkable job getting these provisions approved in places like Ft. Lauderdale; St. Cloud; Tallahassee; Miami-Dade and Orange counties. Now it is time to ensure this basic fairness all across our state,” said Sen. Sobel.

The Florida Panhandle Detour

Photo: Goodwood Museum and Gardens: Living Heritage of the Deep South,Courtesy, Paul Rubio

By PAUL RUBIO

Each fall, Florida’s capital city, Tallahassee, swells with thousands of students ready to take on a world of scholarship, adulthood, binge drinking, and explorative promiscuity. A few years back, national polls revealed that the city’s flagship university, Florida State University, boasted some of the hottest college guys in the world. It’s not hard to see why. Innocent ball tossing on grassy patches looks more like a homoerotic Abercrombie & Fitch shopping bag circa 2006. Shirtless studs assert their dominance across campus, comparing pec muscles at sports games, six packs at frat parties, and fake IDs at nightclubs.

The young and the beautiful congregate at the Leach (the student recreation center/gym), pumping iron and exchanging locker room butt slaps as they talk about their latest “score.”

Beyond FSU eye candy, Tallahassee has evolved as an entity far more attractive than the typical university or government town. Most recently, the unveiling of hyper-modern Hotel Duval (850.224.6000, www.hotelduval.com) ushered in an element of uber glam relatively unknown to the Tallahassee scene. The rooftop bar, Level 8, has quickly become North Florida’s answer to big city sophistication, packing the house nightly for bespoke cocktails served by gorgeous servers in a South Beach-esque setting. Pimped out contemporary suites grace levels 1 to 7 of the hotel, with impeccably stylish furnishings and amenities, including varnished tree trunk stools, oversized rain showers and a bit of tech-y fantasia via ICE, the digital in-room concierge! Hotel Duval’s trendsetting prowess is so unexpected and refreshing, flaunting a vibe, a clientele, and a product usually found in the world’s greatest metropolises.

Accordingly, a number of restaurants and bars have also upped the ante to partake in this mini rena i s s a n c e . Tallahassee’s mid-town area brings on the gastropub phenomena with Midtown Filling Station (850.224.8272, www.midtownfillingstation. com) while the Wine Loft (850.222.9914, www.thewineloft.net) matches handpicked wine selections with succulent small bites like the Shrimp and Lump Crab Empanadas and daily artisanal cheese plates. Kool Beanz caters to the eclectic, Portland types, with an emphasis on fresh, funky, and different, living up to its amazing reputation. (850.224.2466, www.koolbeanz-cafe.com). A bit further afield, the gay owned and operated Lee’s Wine Bar (850.692.3404, 1700 North Monroe Street) facilitates an ideal commingling of gay and straight crowds over house cava and delicious wines from around the world. Tallahassee has yet to reestablish an exclusively gay bar or nightclub since the closing of Brothers in 2008. I n s t e a d , weekend gay nights have cropped up around town, fulfilling the desire to dance, drink and hook up, supplementing what cannot always be achieved online! The night begins early on Friday at Lee’s, Wine Loft, or the gay friendly, 101 restaurant (850.391.1309, www.101tallahassee.com), known for its dirt-cheap happy hour prices. By 11p.m. Friday night, everyone checks into Rehab (926 W. Tharpe Street) for the hot Friday night party, “Relapse.” The weekend party continues with Out & Out Saturdays at Paradigm (850.224.9980, www.paradigmrestaurant.net) in the heart of downtown.

For those not prone to massive hangovers or next-day‘Haze Him’ remorse, Tallahassee offers a surprising wealth of natural and cultural heritage by day. Once considered part of the Deep South, America’s largest concentration of original plantations (71 plantations over 300,000 acres) begins in Tallahassee and ends in nearby Thomasville, Georgia, 28 miles north. Several of these plantations remain open to the public, including Goodwood Museum and Gardens (850.877.4202, www.goodwoodmuseum.org), which still operates as a working plantation. Docents indulge the curious in the sordid and splendid history of the plantation, beginning with its construction in 1837 to its southern antebellum reinvention circa 1911 by the illustrious (and stocky) socialite, Fanny Tiers. Detailed tours highlight the original, antebellum period furnishings as well as the sprawling colorful grounds, replete with centuries old oaks, Spanish moss, and manicured gardens. The 17th century Spanish mission and Apalachee Indian settlement, Mission San Luis (850.245.6406, www.mission sanluis.org), functions as a bizarro living museum recreating daily life during a time when these two cultures first met (though I don’t think these encounters really played out like an Epcot exhibit…).

Thirty minutes south, Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park (850.926.0700, www.floridastateparks.org/WAKULLASPRINGS) reveals a glimpse of old Florida’s natural beauty, housing several miles of protected forest along and around the largest and deepest freshwater spring in the world. Stanch protection since the 1930s has allowed generations of manatees, alligators, turtles, wood ducks, and 181 other bird species to prosper and regenerate, resulting in an ecological treasure teeming with charismatic wildlife unafraid of human presence. Yes, that means if you decide to swim in the springs, you could be quickly met by a group of curious manatees or friendly gators. Older generations may recognize the park as the jungle setting for some of the original Tarzan films starring Johnny Weissmuller, looking exactly as it did decades ago.

Paul Rubio, LGBT Travel writer, has
authored numerous articles and an
award winning book Out Traveler:
South Florida. Paul can be reached
at editor@FloridaAgenda.com