Statewide

More than 70 Legislators Back Housing, Employment and Public Accommodations Protections for Florida LGBTQ Residents and Visitors

Tallahassee, Fla. –– This week the Florida Competitive Workforce Act cleared a historic milestone of support with the bipartisan cosponsorship of 73 legislators, the highest level of support for LGBTQ protections in state history. The bill would add sexual orientation and gender identity to Florida’s Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations.

1,300 Businesses Across Florida Declare They Are “Open to All”

Businesses Large and Small Across the Sunshine State Join National Campaign and Publicly Commit to Serving Everyone on Equal Terms

A bill that threatens to repeal every local LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance and conversion therapy ban in Florida was heard on March 14 in the second of three committee stops before a final vote in the House.

The bad news: The bill is moving forward with an amendment that falls short of eliminating the threat.

A sweeping preemption measure would repeal local protections for 13 million Floridians, sparking economic backlash

(As of March 5, 2019)

Tallahassee, FL - Legislation to bring Florida’s existing HIV criminalization statutes into alignment with current science successfully passed out of its first committee hearing at the Florida Capitol yesterday. The Florida House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted 10-3 to advance the legislation (HB 79) after hearing from House bill sponsor Representative Nick Duran (D - Miami) and HIV advocates on the need for reform.

HB 3 Could Jeopardize LGBTQ and Other Local Protections

Written By: Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida

If you’ve never travelled to Tallahassee to lobby for LGBTQ equality, this is the year to show up and call on leaders to include our community as equals in the state’s civil rights statute.

Fort Lauderdale — This week President Trump announced a goal of ending HIV transmissions in the U.S. by 2030. For HIV advocates around the country, eradicating HIV has been a viable goal for years since we now have the tools to stop transmissions. Unfortunately, standing in the way of HIV advocates — and now the Trump-Pence administration — is the administration itself. Since taking office, this administration has made headlines in the HIV field for harmful policies directly contradicting the President’s recent hopeful statement.