The good citizens of Gainesville, FL saw through the lies and deceptions of the Forces of Intolerance and voted down Amendment 1 yesterday, which would have amended the city charter to eliminate civil rights protections based on sexual preference and gender identity.With all but one of 34 precincts reporting, 11,717 peeps, or 58.32 percent of voters rejected the amendment. Voting for the amendment were 8,375 people, or 41.68 percent. Translation: the protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals stay in the city charter.
Thanks to Equality Gainesville and all the hard work you and your coalition partners put in to keep Gainesville on the correct side of the moral universe arc.
But be aware that the Forces of Intolerance and their Right Wing Lie Machine never sleep, so we need to be vigilant. We must also be mindful of the fact that it's easy to pass civil rights protections, but harder to keep them. We must also in the future stand ready to help any city or jurisdiction facing similar right wing attacks on GLBT civil rights laws.
But break out your fave beverage. This time the Forces of Justice won one.
