More local governments and businesses are telling their employees — gay and straight — that wedding bells don't have to ring for them to get the same benefits their married co-workers are receiving.

Marriage equality advocates hope those initiatives are creating momentum for more significant changes in Florida, which does not permit same-sex marriage and has no statewide domestic partnership registry.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, Equality Florida will host Equality Means Business, a roundtable showcasing local business VIPs who’ll discuss how workplace diversity and protection have made them, well, richer.

NAPLES — On paper, Doug Ball and Frank Dowd married May 19, 2007, in a double wedding with a pair of close friends at a Toronto city hall.

The anniversary they celebrate, however, is June 17, 1982, their first official date when Ball invited his then-vegetarian love interest over to his Washington, D.C., apartment for dinner.

An interview with Equality Florida's Statewide Field Director, Michael Farmer, on FOX35 in Orlando discussing the atrocities occurring in Russia towards the LGBT community. To watch the video, click here.

GAINESVILLE- On Tuesday, August 13, the Alachua County Commission voted 4-0 to add employment, housing and public accommodation protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents.

“We are thrilled Alachua County has joined the 24 other Florida cities and counties as well as 84% of the nation’s largest employers that already have these protections,” said Mallory Garner-Wells, Public Policy Director for Equality Florida. “Now, all residents of Alachua County will be protected against discrimination based on who they are.”

The LGBT rights group Equality Florida sent a letter this week to the Mayor of St. Petersburg and city council asking that the city suspend its relationship with St. Petersburg, Russia because of recent anti-gay violence and legislation.

We interviewed Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida.

Note: St. Pete's relationship with its Russian namesake is not an official Sister City designation; St. Pete's Sister City is Takamatsu, Japan.

As host to Florida’s largest gay pride festival, St. Petersburg has prided itself on its inclusiveness and lauded its progressive employment policies for same-sex couples.

Now, a gay rights group wants the city to sever its ties with its namesake city because of recent antigay legislation passed in Russia.