Live blogging the vote for 2012-296, human rights ordinance.

[tufsu1]

apparently much went on before the vote yesterday....and there may have been some back room deals.

I hear there will be at least one editorial / letter to the editor in tomorrow's paper regarding the vote

[Jimmy]

Maybe Clay's comment last night was prophetic, but poorly aimed?

[Tacachale]

Here's Gaffney trying to explain himself, and then calling off the interview when they ask some real questions. Just try to read the whole thing without facepalming.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-08-16/story/jacksonville-councilman-after-human-rights-vote-confused-voted-way-i

[AshleyLauren]

Oh, Gaffney.

Seriously, I did not think it could get much worse, but this is an absolute embarrassment. Frankly, WHAT THE EFF WERE YOU CONFUSED ABOUT!!!! Hundreds of people in the room that have never attended a CC meeting knew exactly what was going on.

Also, I am sorry but the moment Kim Daniels sat down after only speaking for 15 seconds I knew something was up and that the vote had been swayed. Otherwise, you all know damn well if that woman knew it was going the other way she would have attempted to stop it somehow. This is the first meeting in the three months we have been to that she has not talked more than anyone else.

[Bill Hoff]

I hope all my friends in Springfield are paying attention.  Unreal.

Fortuantely, he'll be terming out next election cycle.

How embarrassing for him.

Oops?

[peestandingup]

I would say one of the major reasons that this bill failed was because people don't see any value in it.  Remember, Jacksonville is a city that depends on it's natural resources (location, port, land, highways, river) to survive.  If it's not the natural resources, it's the government that pays most the salaries here. 

The community this bill targets is well known for it's creative, artistic, educated, and intellectually driven mindset.  Those are great traits for a creative and knowledge based economy.  These are also great traits for a financial based economy.  This has very little value in Jacksonville.  If there were more creative industries, then the vote would have gone the other way.

The bottom line here is that people in Jacksonville don't see any value in this bill nor for the community this bill protects.  That's why the vote went the way it did. 

The good news is is that the failure of this bill can rally like minded people.  It could be the fuel for an economic boom as more people with similar ideals to move here.  Remember, it was not really long ago when Jacksonville did the same thing with the KKK.  How else do you end up with a brand new school named "Nathan Bedford Forrest High School"?  Jacksonville will still be fine.  Even if this economic boom doesn't happen, it still has it's natural resources it can live off of for a couple more decades.

Like minded people won't bother fighting it, or simply don't have the numbers to do so. The city already goes out of its way to chase away creative, educated people, whether gay or straight. This certainly won't help. Those people will just continue to do what they've always done: not move here.

Want my advice? Leave it to the uneducated, god fearing fools to let them wallow in their own mess & run. Run as fast as you can.

[tufsu1]

Maybe Clay's comment last night was prophetic, but poorly aimed?

those who have noted the Mayor's silence on the issue may be on to something

[cityimrov]

Jacksonville is an odd city.  It looks like most the people here don't want to strive for anything.  Not even for their own religion.  I compare what the highly religious people in Jacksonville did vs the ones in Salt Lake City and I see a world of difference.  The ones in Salt Lake City drove architecture, engineering, and education to new heights.  While people obviously disagree with them with quite a lot of their beliefs, you just can't help but marvel at their works. 

I'm still not sure what most people in Jacksonville do.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) â€" The Mormon church for the first time has announced its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain unanimous approval for Salt Lake City laws banning discrimination against gays in housing and employment.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-11-utah-gayrights_N.htm

[Tacachale]

Maybe Clay's comment last night was prophetic, but poorly aimed?

those who have noted the Mayor's silence on the issue may be on to something

I'm too riled to be cryptic. Gaffney was clearly pushed to change his vote behind the scenes.

[Timkin]

What a clusterfuck of a City Council.  Seriously.

[simms3]

Wow, this is really not a positive moment for Jacksonville.  Frankly, it's so negative that a lot of other negative news impacting other southern cities seems trite.

All the bill/substitute was trying to be was a 1st step to essentially start a conversation about equal rights for gays.

It did make me do quick and dirty research on other southern cities that protect gays.  Apparently it is not safe to be gay anywhere in AL, even in Birmingham.  The governor of TN just overturned a measure by Nashville and prohibited other local governments as well from enforcing a law preventing discrimination against gays.  Apparently nationally we can have laws that prohibit private companies or even just plain people from showing any discrimination against those with other religions, races/colors, genders, age, or even AIDS, but the governor of TN thought Nashville was going too far by banning private discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity within its own municipal bounds.

Such is the hardship the gay community faces in the south.  In AL, hate crimes are essentially not possible as Republicans there don't believe in enhanced penalties for crimes against certain groups of people, but penalties are enhanced for crimes on or against Christian churches.

In FL I think we all remember the adoption law struggle and controversy, but I believe there are municipalities in SoFla that are from a legal standpoint pretty gay friendly.

However, several Florida cities and counties such as Miami Beach, Dade County, and Broward County have ordinances offering some protections for gays and lesbians.

It seems in the south Miami and Atlanta are the only major cities where gays are afforded some basic rights.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/tenant-rights-sexual-orientation-discrimination-29843.html

California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin have laws prohibiting discrimination against gays or lesbians. California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and New York City also protect transgender folks. In addition, many cities have passed laws that make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illegal, including Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, New York, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Seattle.

And

http://www.transgenderlaw.org/ndlaws/index.htm#jurisdictions

States: 16 + DC
Cities and counties: 143
Total 160

Year Jurisdiction

2011

State of Nevada
State of Connecticut
State of Massachusettes
Susquehanna Township, PA

2009

Nashville, Tennessee
Kalamazoo, MI

2008

Broward, FL
Columbia, SC
Detroit, MI
Gainesville, FL
Hamtramck, MI
Kansas City, MO
Oxford, OH

2007
State of Colorado
State of Iowa
Lake Worth, FL 
Milwaukee, WI
Palm Beach County, FL
State of Oregon
Saugatuck, MI 
State of Vermont
West Palm Beach, FL
2006
Bloomington, IN
Cincinnati, OH
Easton, PA<
Ferndale, MI
Hillsboro, OR
Johnson County, IA
King County, WA
Lansdowne, PA
Lansing, MI
State of New Jersey
Swarthmore, PA
State of Washington
West Chester, PA

2005

Gulfport, FL
State of Hawaii*
State of Illinois
Indianapolis, IN 
Lincoln City, OR
State of Maine
Northampton, MA
Washington, DC

2004

Albany, NY
Austin, TX
Beaverton, OR
Bend, OR
Burien, WA
Oakland, CA
Miami Beach, FL
Tompkins County, NY

2003

State of California
State of New Mexico
Carbondale, IL
Covington, KY
El Paso, TX
Ithaca, NY
Key West, FL
Lake Oswego, OR
Monroe Co., FL
Oakland, CA
Peoria, IL
San Diego, CA
Scranton, PA
Springfield, IL
University City, MO

2002

Allentown, PA
Baltimore, MD
Boston, MA
Buffalo, NY
Chicago, IL
Cook County, IL
Dallas, TX
Decatur, IL
East Lansing, MI
Erie County, PA
New Hope, PA
New York City, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Salem, OR
Tacoma, WA

2001

Denver, CO
Huntington Woods, MI
Multnomah Co., OR
State of Rhode Island
Rochester, NY
Suffolk County, NY

2000

Atlanta, GA
Boulder, CO
DeKalb, IL
Madison, WI
Portland, OR

1999

Ann Arbor, MI
Jefferson County, KY
Lexington-Fayette Co., KY
Louisville, KY
Tucson, AZ

1998

Benton County, OR
Santa Cruz County, CA
New Orleans, LA
Toledo, OH
West Hollywood, CA
York, PA

1997

Cambridge, MA
Evanston, IL
Olympia, WA
Pittsburgh, PA
Ypsilanti, MI

1996

Iowa City, IA

1994

Grand Rapids, MI
San Francisco, CA

1993

State of Minnesota

1992

Santa Cruz, CA

1990

St. Paul, MN

1986

Seattle, WA

1983

Harrisburg, PA

1979

Los Angeles, CA.
Urbana, IL

1977

Champaign, IL

1975

Minneapolis, MN

And finally, I know here in Atlanta:

http://www.atlantaga.gov/media/domesticpartners_060403.aspx

A few municipal entities, such as Atlanta, maintain a domestic partnerships registry for city employees who are in both same-sex and opposite sex cohabiting couples.[1]

The implications are that a whole segment of society will flock in large part to a select few cosmopolitan or gay-friendly cities/states, leaving a dearth of artists, young professionals, creative types and some of the best party people out of most places, I suppose including Jacksonville.  Unfortunately, the discriminatory and embarassing attitude found in Jacksonville is relatively commonplace around the country, and it really takes a big city attitute (or as we should call it a judicious approach to humanity) to overcome it.

[simms3]

Here you see splintering in both maps.  One is a city vs its suburbs, but the city is small and uniform and the suburbs are large and pretty uniform.  Still separate.  The first map is the recently failed and huge press transportation tax for metro Atlanta.  If the City of Atlanta wanted to pass its own, it most likely could (we already pay 1% for transit, so it would be for 2%, our fuggin state refuses to pay for infrastructure even though it's growing so fast and it regulates MARTA which it does not fund and refuses to allow the city/county to have a say in how MARTA funding is split between operations and capital).

The second map is of Jacksonville, showing very distinct voting patterns.  It's a splintered city that might as well be 3 cities.  The northside, which would never survive on its own, the inner core along the riverfront, and the vast suburbs.  Unfortunately for Jacksonville, the city can't supercede its suburbs because they are one and the same.

Also unfortunately for Jacksonville some council members from the most liberal and gay-friendly areas STILL voted for discrimination against gays, their constituents.  That was probably the most unfortunate aspect of the vote.

[Tacachale]

Another thing about Jim Love and the other Republicans who supported the amended bill, this is the kind of thing they have to deal with from some segments of their party:

And the six Republicans â€" Stephen Joost, Greg Anderson, Lori Boyer, Jim Love, Bill Bishop and Richard Clark â€" who voted in favor the legislation will come under fire as well.
“We will make sure we expose the Republicans who were basically traitors,” said Raymond Johnson II, a political consultant and president of a conservative religious nonprofit. “They have betrayed God and the Bible. They betrayed their faith, their constituents, the Constitution and their party.”

From this Times-Union article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-08-16/story/defeat-human-rights-ordinance-solidifies-jacksonvilles-image-good-or-ill#ixzz23ltICoMR

Especially considering the Mayor's cowardice or worse on the issue, is it any wonder a lot of folks were reluctant to take a stand? These Republican council members had nothing to gain personally or politically from this besides doing the moral thing and making the smart decision for business in Jacksonville, yet they put themselves up to be targeted by the religious Pharisees and other malcontents in their party. In a poisonous environment where three Democrats - DEMOCRATS - voted against a gay rights bill, they still voted for it. They have my respect.

[Timkin]

^ OMG    We have to get these people out of our Council / Government.     This is insane

[vicupstate]

I was in Oklahoma City recently, and I saw an article that aluded to the city passing an anti-discrimination clause for the GLBT  community this year.  I take it that OKC is the most moderate part of Oklahoma (a VERYconservative state), but that surprised me.   I haven't researched the details, perhaps it was domestic partnership benefits for employees of the city and not discrimination in the private sector.  Simms3 might can research since he knows where to look. 

Even more surprising was that an openly gay man was elected to the state senate there, and a state House seat was sought by numerous candidates that seemed to either be gay or trying to out-gay rights each other.