TimesUnion: Time to vote on Jacksonville gay rights bill, downtown authority, says council president

[Patricia M. McBride]

 More from the council president.  I don't know how they think they can just ram this life altering bill through and hurry along on to other things, but it certainly is a tell for how all these folks think about things are extremely important.   Given 68+ percent of our residents voted to keep marriage between a man and woman, our city council deciding to force these folks to accept something other than what they voted for is sick (and that is exactly what this bill is about untimately.........it is a foot in the door). 

 

I am also highly disappointed Bishop allowed himself to be bullied about putting black faces on committees given the committees are done by order and whose turn it is, and we have a republican majority, so sorry about that the he didn't appoint all democrats to run the committees (as is his right).

..............................................................

Bill Bishop wants the matters resolved soon, before  the budget becomes priority.

Posted: July 23, 2012

By David  Bauerlein

Time to vote on Jacksonville gay  rights bill, downtown authority, says council president

David  Bauerlein

July 23, 2012 10:37 AM EDT

Copyright 2012 The Florida Times-Union. All rights  reserved. This ...

The budget hearings set to start in August are like a storm on the horizon  for Jacksonville City Council members.

Before it hits, council President Bill Bishop wants to clear the decks of two  other big votes — a bill that would add gays to the city's human rights ordinance and a bill creating a downtown investment authority.

The anti-discrimination bill has generated thousands of emails, letters and  phone calls to council members since it was introduced in May. Bishop said one way or the  other, it's time to decide before the budget takes priority.

"Vote it up or down," Bishop told council members. "We've got a lot of things  to deal with, and that is one that would be nice to not have on our plate for  very much longer."

Read: Today's opinion letter in response to John Delaney's July 10  letter

But council committees didn't vote last week to move either the gay rights or  the downtown investment authority bills forward for a full council vote Tuesday.  That means the earliest the council could vote is Aug. 14, unless Bishop pulls  them out of committee and onto the council floor for a vote, as he has the power  to do.

The council's ability to finalize action on those bills will foreshadow its  capacity to grapple with Mayor Alvin Brown's proposed budget, which already has come  under sharp criticism by Sheriff John Rutherford for cuts to his  department.

Finance Committee Chairman John Crescimbeni said he agrees with Bishop's game  plan.

Read more at Jacksonville.com:  http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-07-23/story/time-vote-jacks...

 

[amanda choate]

Peggy since you like to beat on me so much, my turn. No, exceptions arte exactly what laws do provide. People are excepted everyday by laws specifically designed to do so. The blind, they are allowed to bring animals into places where sighted people cannot. By sex, women are excluded from combat roles. By age, young people are prohibited from drinking based solely upon their age. By race, blacks are given contracts with government because of their race. Religion, Christians are provided national holidays for religious observances. By nationality, Native Americans are exempted from compulsory military service and taxation.

So Peggy, what on earth are you talking about?????

[Patricia M. McBride]

Peggy, given that over 68% of the citizens of Duval County voted to keep the state's marriage amendment of marriage being only between a man and a woman, voting for this bill is political suicide. If these folks were only asking for equal rights, that would be one thing as long as it did not infringe on the rights of others, but that is clearly not what they are doing. They are asking for special rights and acceptance of a "behavior" that WILL infringe on the rights of the majority of residents of Duval County. For that reason, the only reasonable vote is "NO".

[Peggy Hall]

Any bill that requires exceptions is unconstitutional.