FLORIDA ANTI-GAY LAW
DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
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In 1993, The Alachua County Commission passed a law which offered
protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In 1994, voters passed Charter Amendment 1 with a 59% majority. It repealed
the law, and also prohibited the Commission from enacting any such protections in the
future.
Circuit Judge Frederick Smith has now declared the civil rights ban to be
unconstitutional. His decision followed an earlier ruling by the US
Supreme Court on Colorado's homophobic Amendment 2. (Romer vs.
Evans; 1996-MAY). Judge Smith said in part: "Amendment 1's focus on
sexual orientation cannot be explained on any rational basis other than
as a manifestation of the majority's condemnation of homosexuality and
bisexuality,". The Supreme Court had ruled that this rationale
"cannot constitute a legitimate government interest."
Concerned Citizens of Alachua County, the group that sponsored
Amendment 1, intends to appeal Smith's ruling.
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