Equality Florida on Monday delivered
nearly 3,000 letters urging Florida Governor Rick Scott to issue an
executive order protecting LGBT state workers and contractors from
discrimination.
The letters were written by Floridians
from across the state using the volunteer-run app Resistbot.
Equality Florida claims that Scott's
office promised the order after 49 people died and dozens were
wounded when a lone gunman with possible ties to ISIS opened fire on
June 12, 2016 in the Pulse nightclub, a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Equality Florida's Jon Harris told ABC
affiliate WTXL that time is running out for the governor to act.
“We know that for our local LGBTQ
community, these protections are vital to make sure that they are
treated fairly in the workplace, that they can advance without fear
of discrimination,” Harris
said.
When asked by a reporter last year
whether his office made the promise, Scott, a Republican, refused to
answer.
Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida,
told the AP last year that the promise came from Scott's then-Chief
of Staff Kim McDougal and legislative affairs director Kevin Reilly.
“They sat with us and said, 'This is
something that is important.' This was an issue they believed could
move forward and if there was any problem, any concerns, they would
let us know,” Smith said at the time.
Scott was criticized for initially not
mentioning that the 2016 shooting targeted an LGBT venue. In later
interviews and speeches, Scott, who supported Florida's ban on
same-sex marriage, mentioned the LGBT community.
On October 1, Equality Florida filed a
petition to compel Scott's office to enact the protections.
Scott was not in Tallahassee on Monday
to receive the letters.