Legislation filed in the Florida House would add violence against an individual based on “gender or gender identity” to the state’s list of hate crimes. Rep. Joseph Geller, an Aventura Democrat, filed the bill (HB 211) Tuesday.
Pastor Richie Clendenen stepped away from the pulpit, microphone in hand. He walked the aisles of the Christian Fellowship Church, his voice rising to describe the perils believers face in 21st-century America. “The Bible says in this life you will have troubles, you will have persecutions. And Jesus takes it a step further: You’ll be hated by all nations for my name’s sake,” he said. “Let me tell you,” the minister said, “that time is here.” EDITOR’S NOTE — This…
A Tampa, Florida, middle school teacher has been suspended after parents complained that she polled students on personal information including their sexual orientation, gender identity and religion. School officials say 23-year-old Yoselis Ramos didn’t collect the quiz given to seventh and eighth-grade Spanish students at Monroe Middle School. The April 4 assignment was tied to a lesson on inequality and was apparently designed to show students how much privilege they have. Hillsborough County School District spokeswoman Tanya Arja told local…
From Equality Florida: Just hours ago, the Hillsborough County School Board voted unanimously to add gender identity to the Nondiscrimination and Equal Employment Policy for Hillsborough County Public Schools. The Hillsborough policy already included Sexual orientation protections and today’s amendment now provides gender identity protections for the 207,549 students who make up the 3rd largest school district in Florida. Currently 64% of Florida students attend schools that ban anti-gay bullying and more than half of those districts have now added…
