Amendment 1 FAILS in Gainesville!

[GOPNotForMe]

NO at 58 percent and YES at 42 percent with 100 percent of precincts reporting!

This is great news! For anyone who doesn't know about it, the fundies in town worked themselves up into a lather over the city commission adding gender identity to the category of protected class in anti-discrimination laws. The fundies tried to amend the Gainesville city charter to force it to align with the Florida STATE law (which surprise surprise does NOT include sexual identity OR gender identity), so protections would have been stripped away from the entire GLBT community. There was a whole disinformation campaign as well about sexual predators being able to assault people in restrooms in town legally because of the addition of gender identity to the anti-discrimination laws in town. It got really nasty. Anyway, the fundies LOST and every one of us WON! I know it's not as huge (and awful) as Prop 8 was but I believe it it the first election on a gay-rights issue in the country since Prop 8 so maybe this is a sign that things are turning around?

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090324/ARTICLES/903249997/1002?Title=Updates-City-votes-down-Amendment-1

EDIT: Here's a link that actually says the results: http://www.wcjb.com/index.php?cat_id=4006&url_news4006=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wcjb.com%2Fmodules%2FNews%2FdisplayNews.php%3Fid%3D3826&formFocus=news4006

Here's another: http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid76275.asp

[Not Me]

1. This is great news...

because word was that if they were successful, they were going to train their sights on Orlando and other cities in the state that have non-discrimination laws in place.

[GOPNotForMe]

2. Yeah I heard their logic was that if they could pass that shit in Gainesville...

...they could pass it anywhere in the state (which, frankly, is probably true, except for maybe Broward County).

[imdjh]

23. Perhaps they bought into their own lie?

I don't know if anyone else noticed, because it didn't appear to matter, but Amendment 2 did NOT pass in "every county except Monroe".

See this Wiki article making the claim : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Amendment_2_(2008)

The technology used to show elections results apparently can't be adjusted for the amendment process, so it shows Amendment 2 passing in any county in which it got more than 50% of the vote, rather than the 60% required. The religious right and the GOP started bragging that the Amendment had "passed in every county except Monroe" from the start and they have never given up on that deception.

[bluedawg12]

3. Great news! This is a good sign considering it's Florida.

[tbyg52]

14. I'll say!

I finally saw Milk, and I could barely tolerate the Anita Bryant scenes. :puke:

[Webster Green]

4. "sexual predators being able to assault people in restrooms"

This is a subject that fundies and repukes know quite a lot about. :eyes:

[msongs]

6. must be confusing restrooms with a certain kind of popular church based in ****e nt

[t0dd]

5. This is wonderful...

Tolerant, kind, and sensible people in Florida. Who would have imagined that? We've made great progress, and this IS a sign things are turning around.

[GOPNotForMe]

7. I've lived in Gainesville many years and have always thought it was nice, tolerant, compassionate.

Nice to be proved right!

[davidinalameda]

8. very cool

[katmondoo]

9. I live in Gainesville but couldn't vote

It was for city residents only and I live outside of the city limits. I wanted to vote so badly. I am happy it was defeated. I love it here and it would have been so disappointing if the yes vote won.

[FreeState]

10. To the greatest with you! N/t

[La Lioness Priyanka]

11. thomcat, jackbeck, lisa and I phone banked for this on monday evening

this was the first time transgendered issues were in the forefront. so a victory on this is quite historic.

:)

here we are after our phonebanking:

[ThomCat]

12. My First effort at getting back into volunteering!

Yay! I am very, very glad that we were able to do something to help in Gainesville! :woohoo:

If my health situation stabilizes a bit more I will hopefully be able to do volunteer work regularly again. :)


Pri, it was Wonderful to get to see you and Lisa again. :loveya:

Jack, it was Great to finally meet you in person. :hug:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

13. you hadnt met jack before? wow! somehow i thought you two knew each other!

:hi:

[JackBeck]

15. After the defeats on election day, it feels good to have a 'win'.

Thom, I'm so happy you could make it. The first time we met in person is part of history, which makes it extra special. :hug:

And grrls, always wonderful to see the both of you. Your recruitment efforts should not go unacknowledged, so a shout out to Pri and Lisa for also bringing friends to volunteer. This is how we make it happen.

To those that couldn't volunteer or make it to a phone bank, but signed petitions, informed family, friends, co-workers, or called their representatives...congratuatlations on defeating this Amendment.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Starry Messenger]

17. No.

This has been simple answers to stupid questions.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

18. The only thing absurd is that you're still here

[LostinVA]

19. You joined DU just to post this?

Did your mom kick you out of the basement or something?

:eyes:

[Starry Messenger]

20. Geez this is still here?

I alerted 6 hours ago. There must a party in the mod lounge tonight.

[mtnester]

21. Shoo

back to your hole

[imdjh]

22. The opposition was about as ugly as it gets. This is a true victory.

It's one thing to present an opposing view, even a shitheaded view opposing civil rights or nondiscrimination or accommodation. What the religious right did in Gainesville was old school , like decades old school attempt to promote and exploit stupidity.