Because Equality Florida has always existed in a hostile political climate, we know how to carve our victories despite strong opposition.
In addition to our work in Tallahassee, we work with our local partners, providing resources and helping to build coalitions that have passed pro-equality laws across the state. We defend against bad bills and introduce pro-LGBT legislation every single year. Our efforts continue to expand support for our issues across party lines.
For 8 years, we led a broad-based coalition that secured the 2008 passage of the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act, an anti-bullying law that has resulted in protections from anti-LGBT bullying and harassment for students all across the state.
Equality Florida played a critical role in bringing an end to Florida’s 33-year-old anti-gay adoption ban. In addition to years of public education on the harm caused by the ban, we successfully lobbied the Governor and the Department of Children and Families to immediately end enforcement of the ban and not pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court once the ban was ruled unconstitutional on September 22, 2010.
Under our watch, Florida has led the southeastern United States in passing over 60 local policies outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, banning harassment of LGBT students, and providing domestic partnership benefits to our families. We also lead the region in electing LGBT candidates, with 24 openly LGBT officials holding elected office in Florida as of June 1, 2011.
Through our continuous public education campaigns, we are winning the battle of public opinion with a strong majority of Floridians now supporting nearly every one of our pro-equality issues.
We invite you to take a look at the following pages of Winning Equality and see how prominently Florida stands on the national stage of LGBT equality. Your support makes every one of these victories possible.
2011: (as of June 1st)
- Equality Florida played a leadership role, along with the members of the Orlando Anti-discrimination Ordinance Committee, in the successful two-year effort to add domestic partner benefits for Orange County employees.
- Equality Florida helped lead a successful Broward-based coalition effort to add gender identity and expression to the Broward County School’s non-discrimination policy.
- Equality Florida provided critical support to our local partners in the successful effort to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Volusia County Human Rights Ordinance.
- We continued our 14-year streak of defeating anti-gay legislation that has been introduced every year since Equality Florida was formed.
- Equality Florida helped lead the successful effort to create an LGBT inclusive anti-bullying policy in Volusia County schools.