Five Questions with "Equality is Gainesville's Business"

Gainesville, Florida will be the scene of the first election ballot question on LGBT rights in 2009, with a March vote set to decide whether a citywide anti-discrimination ordinance that includes protections for sexual orientation and gender identity will stay on the books.  The ballot question at issue here, known as the Charter Amendment, will repeal the protections if it passes.

As the first LGBT issue to hit the ballot box since Proposition 8, all eyes are turning toward Gainesville to see if this March we're celebrating an LGBT rights victory, or suffering another defeat at the hands of anti-gay activists.  Today we've got 5 questions with Robert Prather, a member of the Steering Committee for Equality is Gainesville's Business.  Equality is Gainesville's Business is a political action committee fighting for equal rights on the ground in Gainesville (go Gators!), and they're leading the charge locally to defeat the Charter Amendment and promote equality throughout Gainesville.  To learn more, read the questions below, join their Facebook group, visit their Web site, and help make sure that the first LGBT rights election issue of 2009 is a victory for equality.

Gainesville is going to see the first ballot measure of 2009 regarding LGBT rights.  What specifically is at issue here?

Robert Prather (RP), Equality is Gainesville's Business: The voters in Gainesville are being asked to make a big decision with this ballot measure on March 24th.  If it passes, Gainesville's city charter will be amended to only allow for protections against discrimination that are covered in Florida's Civil Rights Act, which reads:

The general purposes of the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 are to secure for all individuals within the state freedom from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status and thereby to protect their interest in personal dignity, to make available to the state their full productive capacities, to secure the state against domestic strife and unrest, to preserve the public safety, health, and general welfare, and to promote the interests, rights, and privileges of individuals within the state." (Emphasis mine.) (Source: http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0760/ch0760.htm)

The implications of this are broad-sweeping because neither sexual orientation nor gender identity are currently covered under the Florida Civil Rights Act but they are protected classes in the city of Gainesville.  So, it would basically legalize discrimination in Gainesville based on sexual orientation and gender identity for employment, credit, public accommodation, and housing.  Also notable is the fact that this amendment would limit Gainesville's ability to govern itself by preventing the future addition of protections not dictated by the Florida Civil Rights Act.

Do you think what's happening in Gainesville now has any relation to the passage of Florida's Amendment 2 this past November, which placed a statewide ban on civil unions and defined marriage as between one man and one woman?  Is there a statewide mobilization at hand to repeal LGBT rights measures?

RP: There isn't a direct relationship to the passage of  Florida's Amendment 2. However it is clear that the same motivators are at work.  If we consider the nation-wide efforts to repeal and prevent marriage equality part of a "resistance" to civil rights for LGBT people then this type of ballot initiative seems to fit well in that framework.

While it seems there is national support of protections for LGBT people against discrimination, Florida has a shaky history when it comes to LGBT-related civil rights - harkening back to the days of Anita Bryant.  It's one of our fears that if this amendment passes it will open up the floodgates, creating a precedent for the use of similar tactics not only in Florida but nationally.

What is Equality is Gainesville's Business doing to mobilize voters to defeat the charter amendment?

RP: Equality is Gainesville's Business is hard at work building a coalition of supporters and volunteers from progressive activists, Students for Change (formerly Students for Barack Obama at the University of Florida), Unitarian Universalists, and the local Democratic Party to name a few.  We are currently phonebanking almost every day of the week and will take to the streets to kick off canvassing on February 14th.

With campaigns like this it's all about voter education and getting out the vote.  This is a hard topic to educate voters on -- especially considering the time frame and costs associated with print, radio and television advertisements.  But when so few people vote in municipal elections (generally 10-20%) every vote counts.  So we'll be calling and canvassing until the last voter casts their vote on March 24th.

Proponents of this charter amendment are using talking points and advertisements saying that the current ordinance intimidates and prosecutes Christians.  They've also used advertisements playing on fears that transgender citizens will use public restrooms and put children in danger.  How has the Gainesville community reacted to these types of comments and advertisements, and are they misleading?

RP: These clearly misleading advertisements and claims were at the least successful in their efforts to gather enough petition signatures to get the amendment on the ballot.  You can't fault normal everyday citizens for succumbing to these fear tactics.  They are just living their lives and are then suddenly bombarded with very scary claims.  Who has time to go back and look through the Gainesville City Ordinances to fact check these claims?  No matter what the opposition says, however, there are no laws or policies on the books in Gainesville that put anyone in increased danger in public restrooms.

Gainesville is a community that prides itself in being progressive.  In fact on November 4th we voted to impose two sales taxes on ourselves to protect the environment and bolster local public school funding.  Whenever I explain the implications of this amendment to people their reaction is invariably something like "Whoa. What can I do?".  The outpouring of support from community leaders, faith leaders and regular citizens of Gainesville is encouraging.  But, as we learned with Florida's Amendment 2, we can't take anything for granted.

What kind of statewide and/or national support are you getting to help defeat the charter amendment, and what can people outside of Florida support efforts to defeat this charter amendment?

RP: While the majority of our workforce and support is Gainesville-based we have support from Equality Florida, The National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce, the Human Rights Campaign, and the ACLU of Florida.

Supporters anywhere in the U.S. can help us by investing in our campaign.  We're accepting donations online at www.equalitygainesville.com and there's also a form where you can sign up to volunteer (anyone can do phonebanking!).  Investing in this campaign monetarily would go a long way to get our message out.  As it is, there are still people in our community who don't know the implications of this amendment.  Helping us defeat this bigoted charter amendment will send a clear message that we will not stand for discrimination in our communities.