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Buju Banton's violations of the Reggae Compassionate Act

Fascinating article on what discrimination actually costs a same sex couple over a lifetime. Worst case: $467,562Best case: $41,196 The High Price of Being a Gay CoupleBy TARA SIEGEL BERNARD and RON LIEBERRe-Published: October 15, 2009 Much of the debate over legalizing gay marriage has focused on God and Scripture, the Constitution and equal protection.

Florida's very own "fire-breathing liberal" is resigning from Congress. 

As venues across the country cancel anti-gay reggae dancehall singer Buju Banton, the performer has ADDED a new date and location:Oct 30th - JANNUS LANDING COURTYARDBox Office Numbers:(727) 896-2276(727) 896-1244 (727) 821-7466 Box Office Hours:7:00pm - 1:30am Banton's Boom Bye Bye instructs listeners to shoot gay people in the head and burn gays with acid.

Equality Florida recent became aware of a possible anti-gay murder that occurred in Pensacola on Oct. 4th around 11PM. The victim, Eli Siler was found lying in the street, with multiple gun shot wounds, just outside Emerald City - a popular gay bar in Pensacola. If anyone has information, please contact Detective Tarlanda Gooden at 435-1972 or the Pensacola Police Department at 435-1900. Equality Florida will continue to closely monitor this situation as it develops.__________ The following article ran in the Pansacola New Journal on Thursday, Oct 8th:

RSVP to [email protected] EQUALITY FLORIDA presents: WILL YOUR LOVED ONES BE LEFT OUT?Unique Financial Concerns for the LGBT Community Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 6:00-8:00pm* Light refreshments will be served

Kudos to Equality Florida's Robin Hankins and the good folks at Unity Clearwater for hosting a powerful Coming Out Day event Oct 11th that drew massive media coverage on our issues. Watch the videos:

Here's the text to his speech:

Here's a snippet an article from this week's edition of the South Florida Blade that highlights a number of South Florida community leaders, including our very own Tobias Packer, and their role in this weekend's National Equality March in Washington, D.C.

Sunday, Oct. 11 1:30 - 3:00 pm

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DAVIE - Reggae artists Buju Banton and Beenie Man are scheduled to perform in Miami on Saturday, Oct. 31 at the James L. Knight Center for “Reggae Bash 2009”. Their scheduled performance has created controversy in the South Florida community as activists from organizations such as Equality Florida would like to have the Miami concert canceled as in other markets such as Tampa, Orlando and Tallahassee based on anti-gay lyrics from the Reggae Artists, Buju and Beenie Man.

Joy Behar interviews Christian Siriano and three brave middle school students about the difficult and delicate process of coming out. Joy cites GLSEN data that says 91% of gay middle school students report harrasment or even physical abuse in school.

Chris over at lawdork.net has a great summary of the hate crimes bill's progress. The Death Penalty language considered by many a "poison pill" to keep progressive legislators from voting for the bill has been removed. Here's a quick summary and a link to the full story: Hate Crimes Act Makes Conference Report, Death Penalty Gone

The political world has been a buzz with the question, who will challenge Congressman Alan Grayson this cycle? 

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1268476.html Songs of hate BY GEORGE BYARS Reggae dancehall performers Buju Banton and Beenie Man don't know me, but they say they hate me.

Much of the debate over legalizing gay marriage has focused on God and Scripture, the Constitution and equal protection. But we see the world through the prism of money. And for years, we’ve heard from gay couples about all the extra health, legal and other costs they bear. So we set out to determine what they were and to come up with a round number: A couple’s lifetime cost of being gay - up to $212,000.

Congressman Grayson has joined our host committee for our Orlando Gala. Get your tickets today and you can meet Congress' most audacious freshman.

Three Updates 1- Miami Herald Article Calls Out Concert Promoter's Liehttp://ow.ly/r7SBBanton caught on video performing murder gay music in 2006- IN MIAMI no less 2- Jamaican Newspaper reports: 'Boom Bye Bye' still haunting Buju