The first major gay rights showdown since Houston's rancorous vote to repeal its anti-discrimination ordinance is shaping up here in Jacksonville, the largest city in the nation whose leaders have never enacted civil rights protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Like Houston, Jacksonville is a growing Southern city where religion plays a powerful role in public life. And, as in Houston, the battle here pits a well-organized coalition of gays and business forces against energized Christian conservatives who raise issues of religious freedom and the specter of male predators in women's bathrooms. One major difference: In Houston, voters this month rolled back an existing ordinance; in Jacksonville, for now, the issue is before elected officials.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/us/after-a-defeat-in-houston-the-fight-for-gay-rights-shifts-to-jacksonville.html
Another poster brought this up yesterday on another thread. To be honest, I think it deserves its own thread!
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,25680.msg431518.html#msg431518 (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,25680.msg431518.html#msg431518)