News & Commentary

By: Salvador Montalvo, Chef

One of my greatest passions in life is the culinary arts. I’m a chef with more than a decade of experience and the thing I enjoy the most about cooking is the possibility to mix flavors, styles and cultures. With food, the diversity of flavors enriches our palates. Just like in our community, and in our labor force, diversity offers us great strength and benefits.

For this reason, I have always made an effort in my professional life about creating an inclusive environment for all employees, including those that identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT).

The Florida Legislature completed its first week of the 2015 session on Friday, and we are sorry to report that among its first activities, it advanced a bill that would discriminate against transgender individuals in public accommodations like bathrooms, locker rooms and other places where there is an expectation of privacy.

Reacting to the historic passage of a transgender-inclusive amendment to the important human rights ordinance in Miami-Dade county, and targeted at reversing others across the state, HB 583 makes it a crime to use a bathroom that does not coordinate with the sex on one’s birth certificate or drivers’ license. Both the bathroom user and the company that provides the public restroom can even by sued by members of the public. The bill cleared its first committee on the second day of the legislative session.

By Chase Strangio, Staff Attorney, ACLUGetting arrested for using the bathroom could become the law in Florida.Using a public restroom is something most people have done. For many non-transgender people, the experience might be gross or inconvenient, but most people don't have serious concerns about whether they will be harassed, attacked, or arrested when walking into a bathroom. But for most trans people, this is precisely what we think about every time we walk into the bathroom.

The time is upon us once again. Monday, March 2 marks the start of the Florida legislature’s 2015 session and the ACLU of Florida will be at our state’s Capitol defending against bills that aim to limit your civil rights and civil liberties. We’ll also be fighting for new laws that look to expand freedoms for all Floridians. We’re excited about the work we’ll be doing and want to share just a glimpse of what’s to come.

By: Juan del Hierro, director of Ministry Empowerment for Unity on the Bay and one of the plaintiffs in Grimsley and Albu v. Scott, et al., our freedom to marry case in Florida.

For some, Tuesday, January 6th, will be just another day in Miami. For many others, it will be a day of celebration. Some will celebrate Three Kings Day, some will celebrate marriage equality, and many will celebrate both.

Last week, here in Miami-Dade County, I had the privilege of being present for one significant step forward in the march for justice for the transgender community in South Florida, painful though it was at times to witness.

Most folks (a supermajority) think that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression is wrong and should be prohibited, and the vast majority of people think—incorrectly—that those explicit protections exist under state law. They don’t.

I am pretty concerned – as maybe you are as well – about the impact of this week’s elections on civil liberties. But I’m not discouraged. Let me tell you why.

Do you remember the final match that the U.S. Men’s team played in this year’s World Cup? I don’t watch a lot of soccer, but that match is helpful in understanding where things stand after this week’s election.

An aggressive Belgian team had the U.S. rocked back on their heels playing defense for nearly the entire match. It should have been a blowout by the Belgian team, but it wasn’t -- because of the heroic effort of the U.S. goalkeeper, Tim Howard. He made an incredible athletic effort, refusing to give up. He set a World Cup record for blocking shots, keeping the Belgians scoreless in regulation and forced overtime.

That’s what ACLU is. You, me and all of our thousands of members and supporters across Florida -- when civil liberties are under attack, we are the goalkeeper.

By a unanimous vote, Hillsborough has become the latest county in Florida to expand anti-discrimination protections to the LGBT community.

The historic vote to add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression as protected classes to the current Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) took place on October 1st with the leadership of Commissioner Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough’s first openly gay county commissioner.

Prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the ACLU’s case on behalf of Edie Windsor that struck down the heart of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the law prohibiting the federal government from recognizing marriages of same-sex couples, more than 20 courts have issued rulings against similar state prohibitions.

Last week, Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Luis M. Garcia declared part of Florida’s ban unconstitutional. More cases are in the pipeline, including the ACLU’s case in federal court seeking what Judge Garcia’s opinion does not address: recognition of marriages performed in other states.