A lot has happened for the LGBT community since last June’s Pride celebration. As the community awaits the biggest news of all — the federal Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the legality of same-sex nuptials nationwide, a decision that could be delivered any time between now and the end of the month — let’s review some of the past year’s milestones and victories.
Marriage equality comes to the Sunshine State
As of Jan. 6 this year, Florida became the 36th state to recognize same-sex marriage.
Ruling in Brenner v. Scott, U.S. Judge Robert Hinkle overturned the state’s gay marriage ban in August. He immediately stayed his decision, though. In December, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt gay marriages in Florida and extend the stay, which was set to expire Jan. 5. Luckily, she failed when the Supreme Court refused her request.
And one day before same-sex marriages began statewide, Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel lifted her own stay in a marriage ruling that affected only Miami-Dade County. Gay couples there were allowed to marry as of 2 p.m. on Jan. 5.
Gay adoption ban lifted
After nearly four decades, Florida’s gay adoption ban has been overturned. Though the law is largely symbolic at this point and hasn’t been enforced in five years — since a judge found it unconstitutional — it will officially come off the books as of July 1. The ban’s removal is part of a larger bill that promotes adoption in the state.
Ireland makes history
Ireland became the first country to legalize gay marriage through popular vote. In a May 22 referendum, Irish voters overwhelmingly sided with marriage equality — more than 61 percent approved gay marriage at the polls.
Obama’s executive order
On July 21, President Barack Obama signed an executive order that prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against workers on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This workplace discrimination ban affects millions of LGBT employees of federal contractors and the federal government.
State House flushes trans bathroom bill
A controversial bill preventing transgender Floridians from using the restroom of their choice made headlines this spring. The discriminatory law, HB 583, failed to advance, though, when the Florida House of Representatives ended its legislative session on April 28 without voting on the bill. The law would have required people using single-sex public restrooms to prove their gender if questioned or face arrest, a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
A perfect score
St. Petersburg was one of just 38 cities across the country to receive a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2014 Municipal Equality Index. Tampa was close behind with a score of 97 after outranking St. Pete the previous year. Only two other Florida cities earned a perfect score for 2014 — Orlando and Wilton Manors.
LGBT Welcome Center opens
In December, Metro Wellness opened the third LGBT Welcome Center in the country in St. Petersburg’s Grand Central District. In addition to providing information for tourists, the center is also a safe spot for LGBT teens to gather and offers community meeting space, support groups and events.
Coming out
One day, celebrities coming out won’t be considered news. But we’re still at a point where high-profile individuals publicly acknowledging their LGBT status spurs conversation and, ultimately, acceptance.
No matter how you feel about the Kardashians, Bruce Jenner’s recent public transformation into Caitlyn has inspired a national dialogue about transgender issues like never experienced before. Other well-known names to come out this past year include Tim Cook (the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company), musician Sam Smith, Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn, country music crooners Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman, retired WWE wrestler Pat Patterson, Neon Trees frontman Tyler Glenn, and pop star Miley Cyrus, who recently announced that she came out as bisexual to her parents at 14.
Film festival turns 25
This past fall, the Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival celebrated a major benchmark: a quarter-century of presenting LGBT films to the Tampa Bay community.
In honor of its 25th anniversary, the filmfest brought in author and filmmaker John Waters for a special performance of his one-man show This Filthy World: Filthier and Dirtier. They also presented Waters with a lifetime achievement award.
Last month, it was announced that the festival would leave its longtime home, downtown Tampa’s historic Tampa Theatre, and move across the bay this coming fall, holding opening and closing nights and other big events at the Palladium Theater in St. Pete, with other screenings planned for venues in both Pinellas and Hillsborough.
California bans “gay panic” defense
California became the first state to outlaw the “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses in criminal cases. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the groundbreaking bill, AB 2051, into law in September. In the past, these victim-blaming defenses have often been used by offenders to justify violence against LGBT people and to argue for lesser charges.
The return of Tampa Pride
The streets of Ybor City were alive with happy crowds on Mar. 28 as Tampa Pride made its triumphant return. The parade and block party brought local Pride observances full circle in a way. Back in the 1980s, the area's first public LGBT celebrations were held in Tampa, moving from USF to downtown and finally to Ybor before running into financial troubles in 2002, leading organizers on the other side of the Bay to launch the now immensely successful St. Pete Pride. But the rise of GaYbor in recent years proved that Tampa is still a draw for the LGBT community, and they turned out in big numbers for another chance to party proudly.
