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Allen Trovillion, Runs Amok
A native Floridian, Trovillion was born in Winter Park on May 1, 1926. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and earned a Bachelor of Building Construction from the University of Florida in 1950. A retired general contractor, Trovillion is married to Vicki Pruitt and is the father of Barbara, Tim, Doug, Sandy, Davey, Missi, Mandi and Monte. A self-professed Christian, Trovillion is affiliated with the Northland Community Church and the Boy Scouts of America, among other groups. "He's from the old school, the 1950s Winter-Park-good-ol'-boy mentality--not the most tolerant person," said Alana Brenner, who ran against Trovillion (unsuccessfully) last year. During one debate, Brenner recalled, Trovillion referred to an African-American student as "boy". "I thought, 'God, I haven't heard that in a long, long time,'" she said. Though Trovillion seems extreme, he is all-too representative of the right-wing majority that now governs the State of Florida. Four young gay men from Trovillion's own district learned a hard but valuable lesson in Florida politics when they met with the legislator on April 9. Students Chris Vasquez (17), Brandon Hodge (20), Thomas Gentile (19) and Matt Sigurdson (18) are members of the Orlando Gay And Lesbian Idea eXchange for Youth (GALIXY) and thus are no stranger to gay activism. Their legislative visit was part of Equality Florida's Youth Lobby Day, which encourages and supports LGBT youth to lobby their lawmakers. Though Vasquez and Co. were only four of over 80 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth who took part in Youth Lobby Day, their lobbying efforts made headlines all over the world, thanks to Allen Trovillion. We probably wouldn't have heard about the incident if it wasn't for the fact that an intern from the Tampa Tribune was present and furiously taking notes.
"I don't understand why the gay population is becoming so vocal," said Trovillion. "You are going to cause the downfall of this country that was built on Christian principles." "You have to suffer the consequences of your actions," he told Gentile, who suffered from years of violence and harassment because he was "too effeminate" for his classmates. "The Scripture says that no homosexual will see the Kingdom of God, and I can't put it much straighter than that," Trovillion continued. "God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and he is going to destroy you and a lot of others," he added, for good measure. "You're throwing your life away". Trovillion wasn't ready for the uproar that his tirade caused: "I told them I disagree with what they're doing and I think they're headed in the wrong direction", he protested. "I didn't tell them they were going to hell . . . I said God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. I believe in what the scriptures said." Unfortunately for the legislator, his comments made the Tampa Tribune and were picked up by the worldwide media. It also renewed interest in the long-neglected issue of antigay violence and harassment in school. "Ironically, Trovillion's comments only prove our point that discrimination against sexual minority youth is still rampant in our state," said Vasquez, "sexual minority youth need protection from harassment in their schools." Lesbian and gay activists were understandably outraged by Trovillion's rant. "Representative Trovillion has disgraced and embarrassed the Florida Legislature by callously dismissing the painful experiences of these students," said Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida. "I'm surprised, but not shocked, that someone here hasn't asked for Trovillion's resignation," said Stephen Roberts, president of the Log Cabin Club of Orlando. "He's an idiot and hopefully he won't be in politics much longer." [As it turns out, term limits require that Trovillion step down in 2002.] U.S. Representatives Peter Deutsch and Robert Wexler, both Democrats, issued statements condemning Trovillion. On the other hand, both Florida House Speaker Tom Feeney and Governor Jeb Bush defended Trovillion's right of free speech, though Bush's office added that "the representative's opinions are his own, and he does not speak for the governor." A few days after the fateful meeting fifty protesters, including Chris Vasquez, attended a rally in Orlando where they demanded Trovillion's resignation (fat chance). More importantly, noted Equality Florida, "Representative Trovillion's abusive comments to student activists energized and mobilized thousands of people across the state. He was so overwhelmed by the more than 5,000 people who contacted his office that he turned off his email, unplugged his fax machine, and took his phone off the hook.
Chris Vasquez, Brandon Hodge, Thomas Gentile and Matt Sigurdson fought the good fight for all of us, and for those lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth who cannot yet leave their closets. If Trovillion is the "villain" of this incident, these young men are its true heroes. As for Allen Trovillion, he made the news again on April 18, when he introduced a bill that would require public libraries to block access to pornographic Web sites on their computers. The lawmaker famous for reading the riot act to a group of gay students amused the media when he piously announced that masturbation is rampant in Broward County libraries, and that one youth is using the library computers to run a sex business. Before April 9, Trovillion's kooky comments might have been ignored. Now anything and everything he says will make the news. Which serves him right. Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer who lives in South Florida with his domestic partner. He can be reached at jessemonteagudo@aol.com |
Florida State Rep. Allen Trovillion: Telling gay youth they're going to hell in a handbasket 
Florida State Sen. Skip Campbell: Will support legislation to promote the dignity of all students 
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