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Florida state Sen. Ted Deutch sponsored a gay bill that inspired controversy among activists. (Photo courtesy pbcgov.com)
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — An anti-discrimination bill that would have added sexual orientation as a protected class under the Florida Civil Rights Act was brought to a halt in the Florida Senate on April 23, according to Express Gay News, a Southern Voice sister paper in Fort Lauderdale. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ted Deutch (D-Delray Beach), had a breakthrough moment last month when Sen. Jeff Atwater (R-North Palm Beach) agreed to co-sponsor it. Atwater, the bill’s first Republican sponsor, was influential in getting the bill heard in the Senate’s Commerce Committee on April 8. The bill passed the committee with a 7-1 vote, but it failed to get scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Community Affairs Committee. On April 23, Senate President Ken Pruitt instructed legislators to stop working on bills whose companion bills are stalled in the House of Representatives. The Deutch bill’s companion, sponsored by Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton), which includes gender identity and expression, failed to get a hearing in the House.
In a debate that mirrored the national ENDA debate in Congress, gay rights and civil rights organizations were split on whether to support the Deutch bill. Equality Florida and ACLU urged legislators to oppose the bill because it was not fully inclusive like the Skidmore bill in the House. Meanwhile, the Palm Beach Human Rights Council continued to lobby for its passage. Deutch’s legislative aides said the bill’s movement through one committee means that Deutch will likely sponsor a similar bill next year. It’s not clear whether he will re-introduce it with additional protections covering gender identity and expression.
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