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Attacking Miami-Dade Non-Discrimination Protections Resume Deceptive Tactics Used by Anita Bryant in 1977 |
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Compiled By GayToday
Miami, Florida--Fifteen months after the Miami-Dade County
Commission's historic vote to extend non-discrimination protections
to lesbians and gay men, the Miami-Dade Christian Coalition and the
Florida Family Association received county approval Tuesday to begin gathering
signatures to repeal the law.
Opponents of the Miami-Dade Human Rights Ordinance, calling their effort "Take Back Miami-Dade" now have 60 days to collect approximately 33,400 signatures and secure the right to submit their repeal effort to the county's voters. "The Human Rights Ordinance is there to protect everyone's basic rights to fair treatment. Voters will see this repeal initiative for what it is--a giant step backward --and affirm Miami-Dade's rich tradition of diversity and mutual respect," said Ralph G. Neas, President of People For the American Way. Lisa Versaci, PFAW's Florida Director, warned that signature gatherers will likely use unfair and deceptive tactics to induce voters to sign the petitions, as they have done since the beginning of this effort and in prior campaigns. Versaci said that the Miami-Dade Christian Coalition sent a misleading mailing to recruit volunteers for the signature drive in February, 1999 that included a so-called "Gay Manifesto" made to appear as though it had been prepared by gay rights advocates. It read, in part: "Homosexuality must be spoken in your churches and synagogues as an honest estate .... We will in all likelihood expunge a number of passages from your Scripture and rewrite others, eliminating preferential treatment of heterosexual marriages ... If all of these things do not come to pass quickly, we will subject Orthodox Jews and Christians to the most sustained hatred and vilification in recent memory."
Twenty-three years ago, Miami-Dade County stood at the forefront of gay rights when it amended its human rights ordinance to prohibit anti-gay discrimination. The amendment, however, was repealed after orange juice queen, Anita Bryant, led a similar campaign against it. While it has been illegal since 1998 to discriminate against gay men and lesbians in housing, employment and public accommodations, the current ordinance does not require biased religious or nonprofit groups to comply. The anti-gay religious fanatics insist they're simply using the democratic process to repeal the protections decided upon by Miami-Dade's commisioners. Eladio Jose Armesto said his umbrella organization, Take Back Miami, will encourage county residents to re-instate their so-called Christian prejudices at the ballot box. Nathaniel Cox, a minister at a minister at Miami's Holiness Church in Liberty City told reporters: "This thing is not about discrimination. It's about an acceptance of a lifestyle that is ungodly." The cities of Miami Beach, Key West, and Broward and Palm Beach counties have adopted protective ordinances. Florida is not among the eleven states, however, prohibiting anti-gay discrimination.
"Don't sign their petitions," he warns his fellow citizens. "But if it goes to ballot, vote 'AGAINST' the bigots |
