Last month in Volusia County — home to Daytona Beach and NASCAR's Daytona 500 — the county government passed a measure that makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing or places of public accommodation like restaurants or bars.
Volusia was the third county in Florida to pass such an ordinance within the last year, joining Leon County (Tallahassee), which did so in May of 2010, and Orange County (Orlando), whose predominantly Republican County Commission followed suit in November.
But curiously, there is one major county smack dab in the middle of the state that is devoid of policies protecting LGBT citizens from discrimination.
That county would be Hillsborough.
It wasn't always like this. Twenty years ago, back when Ed Turanchik, Pam Iorio, Jan Platt and Sylvia Kimbell served on Hillsborough's Board of County Commissioners, they were out in front of nearly every other county in the state when they cast a 4-3 vote in support of including gays in a human rights ordinance. The vote came after hours of testimony in front of over 2,500 people at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (now the Straz). But a year later, after Iorio left and was succeeded by Jim Norman, the sentiment on the board changed. That shift made the difference when the board voted to bar gays from the ordinance in 1995.
County Commissioner Kevin Beckner calls the lack of such a measure unfortunate. He says it's "not only important for our current residents here to make sure that everybody is treated equally and fairly, but it's also important when we look at economic development for attracting Fortune 500 companies that have adopted such inclusive policies for their employees."
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn agrees, calling the ordinance an issue of fairness and economic competitiveness. "I can't recruit companies if we're perceived as a community in any way, shape or form as bigoted or prejudiced."
Sarah Warbelow is state legislative director with the D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign. She says that cities and counties are looking to attract vibrant, creative individuals, and "we know particularly with young people... they're not just looking at the job itself, but other factors that affect quality of life."
Warbelow says young people of all persuasions value inclusivity and nondiscrimination. "So even if you're looking at a straight 22-year-old woman who is thinking about where to accept a job, she cares that gays and lesbians are included in a non-discriminatory ordinance."
But that doesn't seem to be a factor for the current Board of County Commissioners. Then again, we're just guessing, since the majority of board members contacted for this story failed to return CL's calls or emails for comment.
Of course, not only does Hillsborough County stand out in excluding gays from its human rights ordinance; the board went above and beyond with its notorious vote in June of 2005, led by Ronda Storms, to ban any observations of "gay pride" in the county. Storms, now in the state Senate, said she was motivated by a display at a county library that was promoting gay pride. Her motion passed 5-1; among those who voted for that ban were current board members Al Higginbotham and Mark Sharpe. Ken Hagan missed the vote, but has said he supported it.
To add insult to injury, Storms then proposed that the policy could only be rescinded with a super-majority vote and a public hearing. The board endorsed that measure by the same count.
The one Republican who did respond to CL's questions about Hillsborough and gay rights was Sharpe, who says he believes sexual orientation is a private affair that the government has no business being involved in. Despite his vote against gay pride, he emphasizes that he wants a diverse workplace. "I want a creative class to come here and feel comfortable."
But Sharpe further alienated LGBT members of the community in December when he and his four fellow Republicans on the BOCC voted to place noted anti-gay activist Terry Kemple on the Hillsborough Human Relations Board. Equality Florida, the biggest LGBT advocacy group in the state, wrote to commissioners, "You have selected someone who stands in direct opposition to everything this board is supposed to represent."
Among their objections: Kemple's active opposition to gay-straight alliances in Hillsborough public schools, and the statement on his campaign contribution form that he would not accept contributions from any organization that "works to promote the normalization of homosexual activity."
Speaking to CL last week, Kemple said that he has a different "world view" on the subject of gay rights. "I think there should be equal rights for everybody. But I don't think there should be special rights for some people based on who they choose for their sexual partners."
