Date: Wed, 11 Jan 1995 18:20:58 -0500 From: Babngltf@aol.com ***************************************************** National Gay and Lesbian Task Force NEWS RELEASE Contact: Robert Bray: 415-552-6448 2320 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 ***************************************************** VOTERS DEFEAT ANTI-GAY REPEAL EFFORT IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA Wednesday, Jan. 11, 1995...Gays, lesbians and bisexuals were rejoicing in West Palm Beach, Florida -- not far from Anita Bryant Country -- as city voters soundly rejected an attempt to strike anti-discrimination protections from the city Human Rights Ordinance. Voters defeated by 56-44 percent a measure that would have repealed a section of the local human rights charter that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation. The gay rights provision was passed only last September. Sponsors of the repeal effort were the Christian Coalition of Southern Florida, the American Family Association, and notorious local anti-gay city commissioner Sarah Nuckles. Nuckles, who has stated she does not want West Palm Beach to become "another San Francisco," had cast the only "no" vote on the original anti-discrimination measure last year. Behind the successful campaign to defeat the repeal effort were members of Citizens for Fairness, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, and the "No on 1" campaign. Voter turnout may have seemed low -- only 6,863 votes cast -- but local organizers pointed out that this year's 22 percent turnout was twice as high as the last city election in March 1993, when only 9.9 percent of the population voted. Richard Giorgio, Palm Beach County Human Rights Council board member, attributed the higher turnout to the unprecedented effort to "educate citizens that this was about discrimination, not special rights. The community really was united behind our message." No on 1's primary message in defeating the repeal attempt was that it would have legalized employment discrimination and was, indeed, a danger to all citizens. "Voters responded when we told them that hard working people could be fired from their jobs just for being gay or lesbian," said Giorgio. The sponsors of the anti-gay repeal effort have hinted they may legally challenge the election outcome, claiming, among other things, that the ballot was "confusing" and the date of the vote was "problematic." Local campaigners have heard that anti-gay forces will return with another repeal ballot initiative. "The truth is, Americans are finally recognizing that the Radical Right wants to divide and stigmatize," said Robert Bray, organizer with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Fight the Right project, which has assisted grassroots activists nationwide battle anti-gay initiative attacks. "More and more voters are realizing this debate is about discrimination, and they're not buying the rhetoric of the Right." ### Note: For local information, contact Joe Fields, author of the original gay rights ordinance and legal counsel to the No on 1 Campaign, (407)832-5655.