Press Releases

Press Release ∙
Equality Florida Action PAC Spotlight Candidate Jane Castor Elected First LGBTQ Mayor of Tampa
Jane Castor, former Tampa police chief and Equality Florida Action PAC spotlight candidate, won over 70% of the vote to become Tampa's first openly LGBTQ mayor and the only LGBTQ woman leading a major Southern U.S. city.
Equality Florida LGBTQ Voting
Press Release ∙
Record-Breaking Support for Florida Competitive Workforce Act
The Florida Competitive Workforce Act reached a record 73 bipartisan cosponsors, the highest level of support for LGBTQ protections in state history, as advocates pressed leadership to grant the bill a public hearing.
Florida Competitive Workforce Act
Press Release ∙
Equality Florida Action PAC and HRC Announce Support for Jane Castor in Runoff for Mayor of Tampa, Florida
Equality Florida Action PAC and the Human Rights Campaign announced their backing of Jane Castor in the runoff election for Mayor of Tampa, calling her race their top 2019 priority; if elected she would be the city's first openly LGBTQ mayor.
Equality Florida
Press Release ∙
1,300 Businesses Across Florida Declare They Are “Open to All”
More than 1,300 Florida businesses, members of Equality Florida's Open Doors directory, joined the national Open to All coalition, pledging to serve everyone on equal terms regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or other characteristics.
Press Release ∙
Equality Florida and Human Rights Campaign Warn Florida Could Become Next North Carolina
Equality Florida and the Human Rights Campaign warned that Florida's preemption bill HB 3/SB 1748 would repeal local nondiscrimination ordinances protecting 13 million Floridians, risking economic backlash like North Carolina's HB 2, and urged passage of the Competitive Workforce Act instead.
Equality Florida
Press Release ∙
Equality Florida Action PAC Spotlight Candidate Jane Castor Heads to Tampa Mayoral Runoff with Defining Momentum
Jane Castor, Equality Florida's top 2019 spotlight candidate, finished first with 48 percent in the Tampa mayoral primary and advanced to an April runoff against David Straz; Tampa voters also passed Amendment 16 adding LGBTQ protections to the city charter.
Equality Florida Voting
Press Release ∙
Judge Preliminarily Green-Lights Lawsuit Against Conversion Therapy Ban
A Florida federal Magistrate Judge recommended barring the City of Tampa from enforcing part of its conversion therapy ban during a Liberty Counsel legal challenge; Equality Florida, which supports the bans enacted by 20 local governments, vowed to keep protecting LGBTQ youth.
Transgender
Press Release ∙
Equality Florida Action PAC and LGBTQ Victory Fund endorse Jane Castor for Mayor of Tampa
Equality Florida Action PAC and the LGBTQ Victory Fund endorsed former Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor for Mayor of Tampa, who if elected would be the first openly LGBTQ person to lead one of Florida's five largest cities.
Equality Florida LGBTQ
Press Release ∙
‘Rainbow Wave’ Hits in Florida and Nationwide
Equality Florida celebrated a 'Rainbow Wave' in the 2018 midterms, with record LGBTQ victories nationally and in Florida, including Jennifer Webb becoming the first openly lesbian state legislator and 82 of 111 Equality Florida-endorsed candidates winning.
Press Release ∙
Equality Florida Challenges Rick Scott’s Broken Promise on LGBT Protections
Equality Florida filed an administrative petition seeking to compel the Rick Scott administration to enact LGBT nondiscrimination protections for state employees, which Scott's staff had committed to after the Pulse massacre but never delivered.
Equality Florida