Florida might now have some of the most strident anti-gay laws in the nation (four statutes banning gay marriage, a ban forbidding homosexuals from adopting, and our brand-new constitutional amendment that bans gay marriages and civil unions), but there's a teeny bit of hope that we don't have our asses on totally backward. Every state congressman or senator who sponsored or voted for gay rights legislation in 2008 was re-elected.
"Forty-three legislators went on record this year in support of equal rights for gay and lesbian Floridians. Not one of these was denied re-election to the legislature," Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, told Out in West Palm.
This includes legislators from both sides of the aisle, including incoming Republican Senate President Jeff Atwater.
The HRC's next step in Florida might be to push for legislation that protects homosexuals from discrimination in job opportunities, housing, and public accommodations. It's a notion that 89 percent of Floridians agree with. Currently only a few counties in Florida have these laws.
