A proposal that would restrict local governments from imposing their own regulations sparked a back-and-forth Friday over LGBTQ rights between two individuals who come from completely opposite ends of the political spectrum.
Democratic state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith told a Constitution Revision panel that the proposal would “eliminate all human rights ordinances” adopted by local governments in Florida that protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination. The proposed change to the constitution, he said, would also have a negative impact on the state’s economy.
Carlos Guillermo Smith says a Constitution Revision proposal would “eliminate all human rights ordinances” protecting the LGBTQ community.
Commissioner John Stemberger, an Orlando attorney who leads the conservative Florida Family Policy Council said the economic aspect of his argument has been debunked. He then said “infusing downtown regions with bohemians … nondiscrimination laws and gays” do not stimulate the economy.
Known for leading the successful 2008 statewide ballot initiative that made same-sex marriage unconstitutional in Florida, Stemberger told Smith that the proposal “might, arguably, affect the immutable classes of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
The proposal by Sen. Tom Lee was temporarily postponed, a sign that is may be permanently stalled in the CRC. But Stemberger and Smith continued the fight on Twitter.
“As predicted, (Stemberger) is now using Sen. Tom Lee’s bad CRC proposal pre-empting local government to continue his anti-LGBT crusade! We can’t ‘infuse downtown w/gays’! Oh my!” Smith tweeted.
Stemberger called Smith’s testimony a “false narrative” and tweeted that states without laws “that create new rights for sex orientation & gender identity have the best economies in the nation.”
Source Florida Politics
No comments:
Post a Comment