Yes, we live in a place where postponing a vote on a discriminatory bill passes as forward thinking. We acknowledge that in most other states, a proposed law that is on its face discriminatory wouldn't see the light of day.
But with the State Senate, the more moderate chamber in the legislature, deciding to table a vote on a bill that would ban gay adoptions in Florida, euphemistically called "conscience protection," we're just going to have to take what we can get.
A hearing on the bill in the Senate Rules Committee lasted nearly two hours before the panel opted to postpone its vote on the measure, which could mean the bill will take a dirt nap this session, unless they see allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples as a priority.
“We hope not,” said Carlos Guillermo Smith in a written statement.
Smith, the public policy specialist for Equality Florida, was in the room when the vote was taken.
"This hastily drafted bill is a constitutional nightmare, with all sorts of unintended consequences," Smith said. "Both Republican and Democratic senators knew that. That's why they made an intentional decision to not vote on the bill."
Weeks ago, when the House passed a similar measure, members of Equality Florida were alarmed, and compared the bill to Indiana's bill widely criticized as allowing private businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians.
On April 9, the House passed HB-7111, ahead of a pending repeal of Florida’s ban on gay or lesbian adoptions, which hasn't been enforced since 2010, when a judge deemed it unconstitutional.
In the Senate Rules Committee, the bill was ostensibly tabled, according to the News Service of Florida, because the panel ran out of time and Committee Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, said he would speak to Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, about what comes next.
"I tried to warn everyone that we had time limitations, but people came from all over the state [to speak]," Simmons said. "It's not been before the Senate before, so therefore it's important that everyone have the opportunity to say his or her viewpoints on this issue. …I think there were important new points that were brought out."
Of course, proponents of the bill say there'll be legal consequences if the panel doesn't pick it up again.
"We could be in litigation this summer," said Bill Bunkley, a bill supporter who is president of the Florida Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, according to the a report by the News Service of Florida.
Oh, and then this clown chimed in:
"If this bill does not pass, within one year, it's guaranteed there will be lawsuits based upon equal protection, based upon local non-discrimination ordinances," said John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council. "Baptists, Catholics, and other faith-based agencies will be sued claiming that they're discriminating, just for having a preference to place a child with a married mother and father."
It's unclear at this point whether the bill will get taken up again before the legislative session is supposed to end in less than two weeks.
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2015.