Profile
Photos
Comments
Tuesday, 11 November 2008 11:41
Florida Poll: Strong Supportfor Equal Job Rights
for Gay Floridians
Despite laws prohibiting gay and lesbian Floridians
from marrying their partners and adopting children, Florida voters
overwhelmingly believe gay and lesbian Floridians should have the same
rights as everyone else, according to a poll conducted at the request
of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council is a non-profit organization
founded in 1988. The Council is dedicated to ending discrimination
based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
from marrying their partners and adopting children, Florida voters
overwhelmingly believe gay and lesbian Floridians should have the same
rights as everyone else, according to a poll conducted at the request
of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council is a non-profit organization
founded in 1988. The Council is dedicated to ending discrimination
based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
When more than 1,000 Florida voters were asked whether homosexuals
should have the same rights as everyone else to housing, job
opportunities and public accommodations, 89% responded "yes."
Political party identification has little statistical impact on the
results. 87% of Republicans, 90% of Democrats and 93% of Independents
all support equal rights for gay and lesbian Floridians.
Age and gender also had no impact on support of equal rights. 88% of
Florida voters 55 and over support equal rights for gay men and
lesbians, as do 90% under age 55. Similarly, 90% of women and 88% of
men are supportive.
"Across the board, Florida's support of equal rights for gays and
lesbians is consistent with the national trend," said Council President
Rand Hoch.
The results of the Florida poll are based on telephone interviews
conducted between May 28 and June 3, 2008 jointly conducted by
Virginia-based pollsters Keith Frederick and Tony Fabrizio. Frederick
Polls primarily works with Democratic candidates. Fabrizio McLaughlin
& Associates primarily works for Republican candidates. The poll
has a margin of error is 3.1%, with a 95% confidence level.
According to nationwide polls conducted annually for the past quarter
century by the Gallup Organization, 89% of all Americans 18 years or
older believe that gay men and lesbians should have equal employment
rights. This percentage has been constant since 2004.
"The Council is encouraged that this widespread support of equal rights
for gay and lesbian Floridians will soon translate into a statewide law
prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity
and gender expression," said Hoch.
At the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council,
legislation to amend The Florida Civil Rights Act and Florida's Fair
Housing Act was introduced in 2007 and 2008 by Senator Ted Deutch
(D-Boca Raton) and Representative Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton).
"More than 25% of all Florida legislators went on record in 2008
support of the civil rights legislation by either sponsoring or voting
for the legislation," said Hoch.
While no action was taken in the Florida House of Representatives last
session, the Senate Commerce Committee voted 7-1 to move the civil
rights bill forward.
"In April, four Republican and 3 Democratic Florida state senators
voted in favor of prohibiting discrimination against gay and lesbian
Floridians," said Hoch. "Hopefully next year, even more Republican and
Democratic Florida lawmakers will support their constituents beliefs
and update Florida's civil rights laws accordingly."
Representative Skidmore will soon reintroduce her civil rights bills
for the 2009 legislative session. Either Senator Deutch or
newly-elected Senator Chris Smith (D-Fort Lauderdale) will sponsor a
companion bill in the Florida Senate.
The Council is optimistic that favorable action will be taken in the
Florida Senate. Incoming Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater (R-North
Palm Beach) was a co-sponsor of the 2008 civil rights bill.
Incoming House Speaker Ray Sansom (R-Destin) has not gone on record regarding the Skidmore civil rights bill.
Nationwide, the number of anti-discrimination laws and policies continues to grow.
Currently, more than 92 percent of the Fortune 500 companies prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In the public sector, twenty states (California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode
Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin), the District of Columbia
and hundreds of counties and cities have laws prohibiting
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
While gay people exist in virtually every county in Florida, laws
prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians are in effect
only in Broward, Leon, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Orange, Palm Beach and
Pinellas counties, as well as in the cities of Gulfport, Gainesville,
Key West, Lake Worth, Miami Beach, Orlando, Sarasota, St. Petersburg,
Tampa and West Palm Beach.
Since there is no statewide law, most Floridians can be fired simply because of their sexual orientation.
