Charter Amendment One (Gainesville, Florida)

Last updated

Amendment 1
Amendment to the City Charter Prohibiting the City from Providing Certain Civil Rights
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes8,38241.67%
Light brown x.svg No11,73258.33%
Valid votes20,11499.42%
Invalid or blank votes1180.58%
Total votes20,232100.00%
Registered voters/turnout75,21926.9%
Source: Alachua County Supervisor of Elections [1]

Charter Amendment One was a citizen-led referendum defeated in Gainesville, Florida's city election on March 24, 2009. [2] Titled the "Amendment to the City Charter Prohibiting the City from Providing Certain Civil Rights," the measure would remove the legal protections not explicitly covered under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, specifically with reference to sexual orientation and gender identity. [3]

Contents

The amendment was a key issue of debate in the elections and attracted national attention to social controversies in Gainesville, Florida that continued through the mayoral election in 2010.

The amendment was viewed as a test of LGBT rights in Florida following the passage of Florida Amendment 2 which banned same-sex unions the previous year. [4]

History

In January 2008, the Gainesville City Commission narrowly voted to add gender identity to the list of protected groups in its city discrimination ordinance. [5] Gainesville's discrimination ordinance forbids discrimination in access to public accommodation, housing, credit and employment for ten different categories. [6]

Going back to the early 1990s, the debate over LGBT rights in the area had been acrimonious. At a tumultuous June 1992 meeting culminating in the arrest of 15 protesters, the Gainesville City Commission voted 3-2 to oppose a proposed Alachua County anti-discrimination ordinance in a resolution equating homosexuality with "pedophilia, bestiality and necrophilia." [7] [8]

In March 1993, by a 3-2 vote, the Alachua County Commission passed the ordinance adding sexual orientation as a protected category on the county level. [9] [10] In response, a local anti-gay group called Concerned Citizens of Alachua County gathered signatures to overturn the law by referendum. [11] [12] [13] Two groups, No On 1 and Just Vote No, arose to fight the referendum but were badly outspent by the Concerned Citizens group. [14] [15]

After a contentious months-long campaign, [16] [17] [18] [19] the Alachua County ordinance was overturned by citizen referendum in the fall elections of 1994 by a vote of 57% to 43%. [20] [21] [22]

At the same election, a county charter amendment forbidding any similar anti-discrimination ordinances in the future passed with 60% of the vote. [23] Local activists challenged the ban in state court, with national legal organizations getting involved on both sides. [24] [25] In November 1996, following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Romer v. Evans , [26] a judge threw out the amendment barring protection of gay people because it had no rational basis under the U.S. Constitution. [27] [28]

In 1998, after the makeup of the city commission changed following municipal elections, Gainesville city commissioners voted 3-1 to add sexual orientation to the city discrimination ordinance, a move which met with much less fervent opposition. [29] [30] [31]

After the 2008 passage of Gainesville's ordinance protecting transgender people from discrimination, [32] the Group Citizens for Good Public Policy organized a campaign to remove both gender identity and sexual orientation from the charter citing fears that loose gender laws would make it easier for men to infiltrate bathrooms designated for women and girls. [33] By July 2008, they had collected enough signatures to place a referendum on the 2009 city ballot. [34] [35]

Campaigns

Both proponents and opponents of the measure had assistance from interest groups. The PAC Citizens for Good Public Policy supported the measure with legal representation from the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative Christian law group. [36]

Observers noted that the sides and issues involved the campaign resembled those in the 1994 vote, with one exception. [37] The primary opposition arose from Equality is Gainesville's Business, which was represented in court by the American Civil Liberties Union [38] and received support from Lambda Legal, the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and other organizations. [39]

Political Aftermath

In 2010, Gainesville's mayoral race featured Don Marsh, a conservative who had vocally supported Charter Amendment One, and Craig Lowe, a city commissioner who had voted in favor of adding gender identity to the city charter. [40]

A runoff election resulted in Craig Lowe being narrowly elected Gainesville's first openly gay mayor by a margin of 42 votes. [41] [42]

To express their opposition to Lowe's campaign, controversial Dove World Outreach Center displayed a sign reading "No homo Mayor" before amending the statement to read "No homo." The sign was modified after warnings that adopting a political stance could cause them to lose their tax-exempt status. [43]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alachua County, Florida</span> County in Florida, United States

Alachua County is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gainesville, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area with a population of 350,903 in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Bryant</span> American singer and activist (born 1940)

Anita Jane Bryant is a retired American singer and anti-gay activist. She had three top 20 hits in the United States in the early 1960s. She was the 1958 Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant winner, and a brand ambassador from 1969 to 1980 for the Florida Citrus Commission.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1998.

<i>The Independent Florida Alligator</i> Student newspaper of the University of Florida

The Independent Florida Alligator is the student newspaper of the University of Florida. The Alligator is one of the largest student-run newspapers in the United States, with a circulation of 14,000 and readership of more than 21,000. It is an affiliate of UWIRE, which distributes and promotes its content to their network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthia M. Chestnut</span> American politician

Cynthia Moore Chestnut is an American Democratic politician who currently serves the Gainesville, Florida City Commission. She previously served on the same City Commission from 1987 to 1989 and as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1990 to 2000, representing the 23rd District. After unsuccessfully running for the Florida Senate in 2000, Chestnut was elected to the Alachua County Commission in 2002, where she served until she lost re-election in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Save Our Children</span> US anti-gay political coalition formed in 1977

Save Our Children, Inc. was an American political coalition formed in 1977 in Miami, Florida, to overturn a recently legislated county ordinance that banned discrimination in areas of housing, employment, and public accommodation based on sexual orientation. The coalition was publicly headed by celebrity singer Anita Bryant, who claimed the ordinance discriminated against her right to teach her children biblical morality. It was a well-organized campaign that initiated a bitter political fight between gay activists and Christian fundamentalists. When the repeal of the ordinance went to a vote, it attracted the largest response of any special election in Dade County's history, passing by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

Simply Equal is a grassroots coalition that formed to petition the city of Lawrence, Kansas, to add the words "sexual orientation" to its Human Relations Ordinance. In May 1995, Lawrence passed the "Simply Equal Amendment," thus becoming the first city in Kansas to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Michigan</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Michigan enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Michigan in June 2024 was ranked "the most welcoming U.S. state for LGBT individuals". Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Michigan under the U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage was legalised in accordance with 2015's Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity is unlawful since July 2022, was re-affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court - under and by a 1976 statewide law, that explicitly bans discrimination "on the basis of sex". The Michigan Civil Rights Commission have also ensured that members of the LGBT community are not discriminated against and are protected in the eyes of the law since 2018 and also legally upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022. In March 2023, a bill passed the Michigan Legislature by a majority vote - to formally codify both "sexual orientation and gender identity" anti-discrimination protections embedded within Michigan legislation. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill on March 16, 2023. In 2024, Michigan repealed “the last ban on commercial surrogacy within the US” - for individuals and couples and reformed the parentage laws, that acknowledges same sex couples and their families with children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Lowe</span> American mayor (1957–2023)

Stuart Craig Lowe was an American politician who served as Mayor of Gainesville, Florida, from 2010 to 2013; he previously served as Gainesville City Commissioner from 2003 through his becoming mayor. Lowe was the first openly gay mayor of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Florida</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Florida have federal protections, but many face legal difficulties on the state level that are not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas on June 26, 2003, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since January 6, 2015. Discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations is outlawed following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. In addition, several cities and counties, comprising about 55 percent of Florida's population, have enacted anti-discrimination ordinances. These include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach, among others. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities in the state, mainly in the Miami metropolitan area, but has been struck down by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. In September 2023, Lake Worth Beach, Florida became an official "LGBT sanctuary city" to protect and defend LGBT rights.

This article concerns LGBT history in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Perry (politician)</span> American politician from Florida

Warren "Keith" Perry is a Republican member of the Florida Senate, representing the 9th district, encompassing Alachua, Putnam, and part of Marion County in North Central Florida, since 2016. He also served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 22nd district from 2010 to 2012 and the 21st district from 2012 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of Gainesville</span>

The Mayor of Gainesville is, for ceremonially purposes, receipt of service of legal processes and the purposes of military law, official head of the city of Gainesville, Florida and otherwise a member of, and chair of, the city commission, required to preside at all meetings thereof. The mayor is also allowed to vote on all matters that come before the city commission, but has no veto powers.

Eugene Local Measure 51 was a 1978 petition calling for a referendum in Eugene, Oregon, to repeal Ordinance no. 18080, which prohibited sexual orientation discrimination in the city. VOICE created and campaigned for the petition, and gathered enough signatures to force a referendum vote. Measure 51 passed with 22,898 votes for and 13,427 against. This bill's passage garnered national attention, with Miami anti-gay activist Anita Bryant's telegram congratulating VOICE on the victory. It is the earliest example of 35 ballot measures to limit gay rights in Oregon.

The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) is a nonprofit organization in Alachua County, Florida, that advocates for working people. The organization was formerly known as the Alachua County Labor Party and traces its roots to the national Labor Party's call in 1996 for a new political party as a reaction to the conservative, neoliberal New Democrat movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Colorado Amendment 2</span> Referendum on gay rights

Amendment 2 was a ballot measure approved by Colorado voters on November 3, 1992, simultaneously with the United States presidential election. The amendment prevented municipalities from enacting anti-discrimination laws protecting gay, lesbian, or bisexual people.

References

  1. ↑ "Official Results, Gainesville Regular Election" (PDF). Alachua County Supervisor of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  2. ↑ Word, Ron (March 25, 2009). "Gainesville voters keep gay-rights law". Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press. p. B4. Retrieved May 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Sample Ballot, City of Gainesville" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  4. ↑ Kunerth, Jeff (March 24, 2009). "Gays eye vote that imperils rights". Orlando Sentinel. pp. C1, C4. Retrieved May 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Gallagher, Katie. "City commission votes to make gender identity discrimination illegal". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  6. ↑ "City Discrimination Ordinance". City of Gainesville Office of Equal Opportunity. Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  7. ↑ Glass, Jon (June 5, 1992). "Gay-rights vote sparks skirmish in Gainesville". Miami Herald. p. 15A. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Glass, Jon (June 29, 1992). "Ku Klux Klan taunts gays at pride picnic". Miami Herald. p. 4B. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Glass, Jon (April 1, 1993). "Gay rights advocates win bout in Alachua". Miami Herald. p. 5B. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ English, Antonya (April 1, 1993). "Commission's decision greeted with elation, anger". The Gainesville Sun. p. 4A – via Google News Archive.
  11. ↑ Morgan, Lawrence (November 22, 1993). "Deadline today for anti-gay petition bid". Independent Florida Alligator. p. 3. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ Jenness, Laurie (November 23, 1993). "8,500 sign petitions to end gay ordinance". Independent Florida Alligator. p. 3. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Judge allows vote on anti-gay ordinance". Tallahassee Democrat. October 13, 1994. p. 4B. Retrieved May 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Shedden, Mary (September 27, 1994). "Group opposes ballot questions". The Gainesville Sun. p. 3B. Retrieved October 2, 2022– via Google News Archive.
  15. ↑ Shedden, Mary (September 22, 1994). "As election nears, political battle over gay rights heats up". The Gainesville Sun. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved October 2, 2022– via Google News Archive.
  16. ↑ Burke, Patrick (February 7, 1994). "The fight continues". Independent Florida Alligator. p. 1. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  17. ↑ Burke, Patrick (February 8, 1994). "County to vote on gay rights". Independent Florida Alligator. p. 1. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ Long, Phil (October 25, 1994). "Gainesville battles over gay rights issue". Miami Herald. p. 9A. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Glass, Jon; Long, Phil (November 9, 1994). "A watershed vote on protections for gays in Gainesville". Miami Herald. p. 11A. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Glass, Jon; Long, Phil (November 10, 1994). "Gainesville takes gay rights law off the books". Miami Herald. p. 9A. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Alachua victory inspires anti-gay-rights coalition". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. November 11, 1994. p. 6B. Retrieved May 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "A misguided majority (editorial)". St. Petersburg Times. November 11, 1994. p. 16A. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Navarro, Mireya (December 12, 1994). "Gay Rights Battle Flares in Florida". New York Times. p. B8. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  24. ↑ "National law firm joins group's fight over anti-gay rights amendment". Florida Today. Associated Press. February 20, 1995. p. 9D. Retrieved May 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Hurtak, Lynn (June 6, 1995). "Lawyer vows to help gay cause". Independent Florida Alligator. p. 3. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Court throws out Colorado's anti-gay rights amendment". Miami Herald. October 12, 1994. p. 4A. Retrieved May 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Judge throws out amendment that bars laws protecting gays". Naples Daily News. Associated Press. November 24, 1996. p. 4B. Retrieved May 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Lambda Defeats Antigay Amendment in Florida County". Lambda Legal. November 25, 1996. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Gainesville takes first step for law to protect gay rights". Naples Daily News. Associated Press. February 11, 1998. p. 7D. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ Bender, Rachael P. (April 20, 1998). "City Commission poised to discuss gay rights". Independent Florida Alligator. p. 4. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  31. ↑ Magrin, Jud (June 2, 1998). "City votes to include gay rights". The Gainesville Sun. p. 1. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Google News Archive.
  32. ↑ "City passes transgender ordinance". The Gainesville Sun. January 29, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Foes Say Law Protects Predators". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 10, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  34. ↑ "Transgender-law challengers submit 8,600 signatures". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved August 10, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  35. ↑ "Transgender issue divides Gainesville as vote nears". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. January 10, 2009. p. 8B. Retrieved May 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  36. ↑ "TMLC to Act as Legal Counsel for "Citizens For Good Public Policy" in Gainesville, Florida". Catholic Exchange. May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  37. ↑ Cunningham, Ron (March 22, 2009). "It's deja vu all over again". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  38. ↑ Word, Ron. "Gainesville, Fla., anti-discrimination laws kept". Fox News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  39. ↑ "Victory in Gainesville". Lambda Legal. March 26, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  40. ↑ Marsh, Don. "Waiting for the News Media to Show Up". Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  41. ↑ Smith, Chad (April 16, 2010). "Lowe and behold! The next mayor of Gainesville". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  42. ↑ Pruner, CJ (April 19, 2010). "Recount declares Lowe city's next mayor". Independent Florida Alligator. p. 1. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  43. ↑ Smith, Chad (April 2, 2010). "Church changes 'No homo Mayor' sign to read 'No homo'". The Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.