Voters to decide on anti-discrimination law next week in Gainesville, Florida
March 19, 2009
With the ballot vote that would repeal Gainesville’s anti-discrimination law just five days away, the campaign is heating up on the ground and across the airwaves. The proposal, Charter Amendment 1, would require the City of Gainesville to have anti-discrimination laws that do not go beyond state law in Florida. That means that existing protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity would be gone. And protections against bias in employment at small businesses would be gone too. Those backing the charter amendment have tried to make this campaign about bathrooms, claiming falsely that Gainesville’s anti-discrimination protections open the door for predatory men to use women’s restrooms. Opposition radio ad 1 Opposition radio ad 2 Opposition radio ad 3 As bad as their radio spots are, nothing quite matches our opponents’ shameful fear-mongering mail piece, delivered directly to Gainesville voters’ mailboxes:
Despite the lies and scare tactics, we have a good chance to win at the polls next week and protect Gainesville’s anti-discrimination laws. HRC Regional Field Director Sultan Shakir has been on the ground for several weeks running the field program for the campaign, Equality is Gainesville’s Business. HRC Regional Field Organizer Karl Bach arrived to help last week. As of last night, the campaign had spoken with more than 4,000 voters at their doors and more than 23,500 voters on the phone, representing over 25% of the voters in Gainesville. In addition to calls being made from Gainesville, HRC volunteers in Washington have spoken with several hundred Gainesville voters. And Equality Gainesville’s hitting mailboxes and the airwaves too. Here's two mailers that Equality Gainesville distributed:
Watch Equality Gainesville's television spots:
Equality Gainesville radio ad 1 (Radio spot featuring Michael Bowie of the Alachua NAACP) Equality Gainesville radio ad 2 (Radio spot featuring Alachua County Commissioner Rodney Long) Here are the previous HRC Back Story posts about Gainesville:
- HRC volunteers work the phones ahead of March 24 vote on anti-gay amendment in Gainesville, FL
- Phone bank experience leads to new gay appreciation for connecting with voters on LGBT equality
- Gainesville, Florida group gearing up to fight anti-LGBT amendment
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Help Protect Equality in Gainesville, Florida!
[Legal Disclaimer: Paid Political Advertisement sponsored and paid for in-kind by Human Rights Campaign, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Washington DC 20036. Approved by Equality is Gainesville’s Business.]
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