Saturday, April 26, 2008

Gay rights bill dies in Florida Senate

Deutch bill could re-emerge in 2009 legislative session

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.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ted Deutch (D. Delray Beach), had a breakthrough moment earlier this 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 be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Community Affairs Committee.

full article

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