Florida on Wednesday announced that it
would implement the Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton
County.
Bostock, handed down in June
2020, found that anti-LGBT discrimination is a form of sex
discrimination. The ruling has wide-ranging implications, affecting
policies that prohibit discrimination based on sex. It specifically
prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity.
LGBT rights organizations Equality
Florida and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) informed their supporters
that Florida's Commission on Human Relations would implement the
decision.
“Today’s action by the Florida
Commission on Human Relations is an enormous victory for LGBTQ people
across the state who will now be protected under state law against
discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations,”
said HRC President Alphonso David.
“Florida is home to one of the
largest LGBTQ populations in the country and the impact of this
action will vastly improve the health, safety, prosperity, and lives
of hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ Floridians.”
“Today’s decision should also serve
as a reminder that leaders in every state have the power to take
action to improve the lives of LGBTQ people and deliver on the
promise of equality for all. Florida joins a list of states
controlled by both Republicans and Democrats that have already taken
this simple but monumental action. We look forward to other states
following suit,” he said.
The move comes after President
Joe Biden signed an executive order implementing Bostock
at the federal level.
Florida, the nation's third most
populous state, has a long history of anti-LGBT discrimination going
back to the late 70s when activist Anita Bryant successfully
campaigned for passage of a law that prohibited gay men and lesbians
from adopting children. The law remained on the books for 33 years.
In 2008, voters approved a constitutional amendment that defined
marriage as a heterosexual union. The Supreme Court in 2016 found
that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, striking
down Florida's amendment and similar bans throughout the United
States.
While statewide LGBT protections do not
exist in Florida, about 55 percent of Florida's population is covered
through measures approved by cities and counties.