ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Differences over various LGBTQ-related issues are nothing new in Pasco County.
Last year protests drove a “Drag Queen Story Hour” out of a local bookstore, Pasco Schools faced backlash over the district’s transgender bathroom policy and the city of New Port Richey enacted a resolution encouraging the preservation of human rights for all people.
Now, advocates are pushing for broader protections against discrimination at the county level.
Pasco Pride, part of the newly formed Pasco County Human Rights Coalition, has an online petition to show county commissioners the level of support for county-wide human rights ordinance.
“A Human Rights Ordinance is a policy passed on the local level (city or county) to prohibit discrimination based on certain characteristics. These policies often ban discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and employment. HRO policies most often ban discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability, ethnicity, national origin and marital status,” the petition reads.
“A growing number of cities and counties are including sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in their policies. They understand that it is important to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in non-discrimination laws.”
“The Pasco County LGBTQ community deserves EQUAL PROTECTIONS! Under the current policies we are not a protected class and can be legally discriminated against for our Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and expression,” the petition continues. “60% of Floridians are covered by municiple HRO's in the third largest state in the country. Communities enact these protections because they know having a diverse talent pool helps their community to thrive. Having these protections is quickly becoming the standard for cities and counties across Florida.”
“I think that, right now, we’re only going to get one shot at this and I think this is our best way to go,” Florida Trans Proud Founder & President Denise Johnson said.
“I’ve been told, ‘girl, this is the south, you need to just get used to it, that’s the way it is’, and I just cannot accept that,” she continued.
“This human rights ordinance that our coalition is pushing for is not just about LGBTQ rights and equality, it’s about human rights for everybody. Everybody, you know, just treating people the way they should be treated.”
Johnson says the coalition is still working out the specific language for the resolution but hopes to present it to Pasco County Commissioners as soon as possible.
Read the petition here.
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