Blog

The Children's Trust of Miami-Dade County has awarded a $210,000 planning grant to the newly formed Alliance for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (GLBTQ) Youth. The Alliance is made up of six highly respected community organizations, including: Equality Florida, Switchboard of Miami, GLSEN South Florida, Jewish Community Services of South Florida, Pridelines Youth Services and The YES Institute.

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO JOIN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FAIR-MINDED FLORIDIANS AS WE STAND UP AND OPPOSE PUTTING DISCRIMINATION IN THE US CONSTITUTION. For those who have already responded, our efforts are payingoff. Nearly 10,000 Equality Florida supporters have eithercalled or emailed Senator Nelson to thank him as he stands upfor equality and fairness.

St. Petersburg Times Letters to the Editor 1) Ad tried to hide mean-spirited agendaRe: Focus on the Family Action ad, May 31. After reading this ad asking citizens to call and encourage Sen. Bill Nelson to support the Marriage Protection Amendment, I feel compelled to share two thoughts with the Focus on the Family people. First, as a compassionate member of society and an educator, my concern is only that every child have a loving, involved parent or two, regardless of gender.

Cretul will fight partner benefits By JACK STRIPLINGSun staff writer Rep. Larry Cretul failed to pass a controversial piece of legislation last week, but he says he still opposes the use of taxpayer dollars to fund health-care plans that benefit partners of gay university employees. "I'm not at all embarrassed or ashamed of the bill, and it will be a continued effort," said Cretul, R-Ocala. "I haven't given up on the issue. If I get re-elected, we will revisit the bill and revisit the issue."

You can download the testimony at:http://www.eqfl.org/NadineSenate2006.wav Florida Safe Schools CoalitionSenate Education Committee Anti-Bullying Testimony- April 25th Nadine Smith, Equality Florida

Four anonymous elected officials reported to the media that Rep. Ralph Arza used a racial slur repeatedly to disparage the Superintendent of Miami-Dade Schools.Equality Florida wrote to the legislature calling for a full investigation and appropriate sanctions if the allegations are shown to be true.

Schools may ban hurtful T-shirt slogans SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Public schools can bar clothing with slogans that are hurtful, a U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday in the case of a student who wore a T-shirt saying "Homosexuality is shameful." The 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals backed a San Diego-area high school's argument that it was entitled to tell a student to remove a T-shirt with that message.

New poll: A tossup governor's race By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political EditorPublished April 20, 2006 Get ready for a very unpredictable governor's race. Just as many political observers started to wonder if America's biggest battleground state had slipped safely into the Republican column, a new poll shows the race to succeed Gov. Jeb Bush wide open, with the major Democratic and major Republican candidates effectively tied.

Update from Tallahassee- Progress on Anti-Bullying Bill- April 25th Good news! Today the FL House of Representatives amended the pending anti-bullying legislation so that our state’s strongest existing safe schools policies will not be repealed.

Prominent leaders from the Christian right have warned Republicans they must do more to advance conservative values ahead of the US mid-term elections.Their message to Congress, controlled by Republicans, is "must do better". Support from about a quarter of Americans who describe themselves as evangelicals was a factor in President George W Bush's two election victories. The Republicans will need to keep them onboard if they are to retain control of Congress in November.

A battle among Republcans for the Senate presidency continues to twist and turn.Until Feb. 9, Sen. Alex Villalobos had enough signed "pledge cards" to become Senate president for a two-year term following the November 2008 elections.Then Senators began withdrawing their plegde to him an instead backed North Palm Beach Sen. Jeff Atwater. Now neither appear to hold the 14 pledges that would provide a majority of the 26-member Republican caucus. This power struggle been the backstory to work occuring in the Senate and is worth watching closely.

2006 Safe Schools Summit and Lobby DayMarch 12 to 14, 2006Once again, Equality Florida and the Safe Schools Coalition are hosting the Annual Safe Schools Summit and Lobby Day. This is our sixth year of providing students, educators, parents and youth advocates with the resources to build support for the passage of a uniform statewide student safety and anti-bullying bill.The student safety bill is modeled after laws passed in eight states that have proven effective in reducing bullying, harassment and violence.

2006 Safe Schools Summit and Lobby DayMarch 12 to 14, 2006Once again, Equality Florida and the Safe Schools Coalition are hosting the Annual Safe Schools Summit and Lobby Day. This is our sixth year of providing students, educators, parents and youth advocates with the resources to build support for the passage of a uniform statewide student safety and anti-bullying bill.The student safety bill is modeled after laws passed in eight states that have proven effective in reducing bullying, harassment and violence.

Example of posting an image. Copyright 2006 The Austin American-Statesman

by: Nadine Smith My job at Equality Florida leads me to travel -- a lot -- and I speak with many strangers. Traveling on a plane invites a kind of intimacy unlike most forms of public transportation. Perhaps it is the sense of shared vulnerability, so high in the sky in a metal tube, that prompts people to ask within moments of meeting, "What do you do? Are you married? Any kids?"

I'm a supporter of gay rights. And not a closet supporter either. From the time I was a kid, I have never been able to understand attacks upon the gay community. There are so many qualities that make up a human being... by the time I get through with all the things that I really admire about people, what they do with their private parts is probably so low on the list that it is irrelevant. ~Paul Newman

The Equality Florida website won an Advertising Federation Award (Addy) on February 18th, 2006 for a website in a public service category.