Councilman Bill Gulliford Explains Why He's sick of HRO

[Metro Jacksonville]

Councilman Bill Gulliford Explains Why He's sick of HRO



From our partners at TVJax, Bill Gulliford appears on First Coast Connect to explain why he voted against the HRO, has problems with it and wants to force it to Referendum. "This is getting too much attention." Join us for full video after the jump.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2016-mar-councilman-bill-guiliford-explains-why-hes-sick-of-hro

[avonjax]

If the HRO is left up to the people of Jacksonville we will see another Houston. All the scare mongers will come out in force and it will be dashed to pieces. I promise you that.

[jaxlore]

So he doesn't want to stand up for what's right and possible anger his constituent's for the sake of expediency? So its ok for human rights going to go away just because a referendum is passed? This is whats wrong with this city.

[Tacachale]

Passing local ordinances is exactly why we elect, and pay, the City Council. What's so odd about Bill's stance on the HRO is that if some other council member wanted to defer one of the Council's responsibilities on some other issue - virtually any other issue, you can believe that Bill Gulliford would be the first one calling them out for passing the buck.

The way American democracy works is majority rule, minority rights. The majority's authority doesn't extend to depriving vulnerable minorities of their basic rights, and that's the situation we have here currently. When you can be fired, evicted and denied service simply for your sexual orientation, we have an infringement on basic rights.

Beyond that, a referendum would be the absolute worst outcome that could possibly happen here. Bill says he's worried that this issue is getting "too much attention" and is divisive. It's frankly naive to think that an incomparably contentious public debate leading up to a referendum would reduce any of that. In reality, it would make the problem exponentially worse. It would divide the city and draw negative press across the country, and cast the city in the worst possible light.

Bill's idea that a referendum would somehow be more final is a very strange one. Florida's referendum that declared same-sex marriage illegal certainly didn't end that debate, *or* same-sex marriage. What country is he thinking of where people stop fighting for their rights because of a referendum? Certainly not this one.

[Dennishjr]

Has anyone mentioned that a large number of Jacksonville citizens are sick of him?!