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Steve Rothaus

Steve Rothaus' Gay South Florida - for and about (but not just) LGBT people

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We’ve moved! Steve Rothaus’ Gay South Florida is now a section on the new MiamiHerald.com

new GSF

Click here for all the latest LGBT stories, photos and videos at Steve Rothaus’ Gay South Florida.

Update your bookmarks. The quick link: www.miamiherald.com/gay

We’re now a full section at the new MiamiHerald.com, including local, national and foreign stories of interest to the LGBT community.

From now on, all Gay South Florida content will be fully visible on any device, including smartphones, tablets and desktops.

Also, you’ll be able to comment directly to Facebook from any story posted to Gay South Florida.

This blog will no longer be updated, but will remain available to quickly find earlier stories.

If you have any questions, contact me at [email protected]

Thanks for visiting!

September 18, 2014 in AIDS and Health, Arts, Bisexual, Books, Bullying, Business, Census, Crime, Current Affairs, Fashion, Film, Florida, Food and Drink, Fort Lauderdale & Broward County, Gay, Immigration, Key West & Monroe County, Lesbian, LGBT, Marriage, Media, Miami & Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Military, Music, Obituary, Palm Beach County, Pets, Politics, Religion, South Florida, Sports, Television, Theater, Transgender, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, Wilton Manors, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (4)

Panel urges end to US ban on transgender troops

BY LISA LEFF
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO -- The United States should join the dozen other nations that allow transgender people to serve in the armed forces, a commission led by a former U.S. surgeon general said in a report released Thursday that concludes there is no medical reason for the decades-old ban and calls on President Barack Obama to lift it.

The five-member panel, convened by a think tank at San Francisco State University, said Department of Defense regulations designed to keep transgender people out of the military are based on outdated beliefs that require thousands of current service members either to leave the service or to forego the medical procedures and other changes that could align their bodies and gender identities.

"We determined not only that there is no compelling medical reason for the ban, but also that the ban itself is an expensive, damaging and unfair barrier to health care access for the approximately 15,450 transgender personnel who serve currently in the active, Guard and reserve components," said the commission led by Dr. Joycelyn Elders, who served as surgeon general during Bill Clinton's first term as president, and Rear Adm. Alan Steinman, a former chief health and safety director for the Coast Guard.

The White House on Thursday referred questions to the Department of Defense.

"At this time there are no plans to change the department's policy and regulations which do not allow transgender individuals to serve in the U.S. military," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a defense department spokesman.

Click here to read more.

March 14, 2014 in Bisexual, Business, Current Affairs, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT, Media, Military, Politics, Religion, Transgender, Weblogs, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

HRC video | Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at HRC New York gala (with complete transcript)

Published by HRC to YouTube:

Attorney General Eric Holder extends commitment to equality for married same-sex couples. The announcement was made at the 2014 HRC New York Gala.

Here's the official White House transcript of Holder's speech:

Thank you, Chad [Griffin], for those kind words; for your visionary leadership of this organization; and for the indelible – and truly historic – role that you and your colleagues have played in advancing the fight for civil rights and LGBT equality – in our courts, on our city streets, and in the halls of Congress.
 
It’s a privilege to share the stage with you today.  It’s a pleasure – as always – to be back home in New York City.  And it’s a tremendous honor to be among so many dedicated leaders, passionate advocates, strong allies, and committed public servants – including state legislators, city officials, and members of New York’s outstanding Congressional delegation.
 
Since the founding of the Human Rights Campaign more than three decades ago, this organization has brought people together to make a profound, positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans.  Especially in recent years, your committed efforts – and the hard work of countless allies across this country – have helped to bring about remarkable, once-unimaginable progress.  Thanks to leaders and activists in, and far beyond, this room, our nation has made great strides on the road to LGBT equality – a cause that, I believe, is a defining civil rights challenge of our time.
 
You’ve stepped to the forefront of our national discourse, helping to mobilize millions to raise awareness about issues of concern to the LGBT community.  You’ve spoken out for the rights and opportunities that have too often been denied to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.  You’re calling for policies that stabilize families and expand individual liberty.  And you’re doing it all in a manner that is enduring; that is predicated on an understanding of our common humanity; and that is founded on the singular ideal that has defined this country since its earliest days: the notion that all are created equal – and that all are entitled to opportunity and equal justice under law.
 
For President Obama, for me, and for our colleagues at every level of the Administration, this work is a top priority.  And I’m pleased to note that – together – we have brought about historic, meaningful, lasting change.
 
We can all be proud that, today, those who courageously serve their country in uniform – those who sacrifice so that we can all enjoy the freedoms we cherish – need no longer hide their sexual orientation.  With the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law in 2010 – an achievement that the Human Rights Campaign helped make possible – we celebrated the beginning of a new era for many brave servicemen and women.  And we ensured that, here at home and around the world, lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans can serve proudly, honestly, and openly – without fear of being fired for who they are.
 
We also can be encouraged that the newly-reauthorized Violence Against Women Act includes robust new provisions that ensure LGBT survivors of domestic abuse can access the same services as other survivors of partner violence.  This will empower them to seek the help that they desperately need.  And it will enable more and more Americans to find hope and healing in moments of great difficulty.
 
And we can be invigorated by the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce critical civil rights protections – including the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act – which the Human Rights Campaign helped to pass, and which President Obama signed in 2009.  Under this important law, we are strengthening the Department’s ability to achieve justice on behalf of those who are victimized simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  Today, we are more prepared – and better equipped – than ever before to pursue allegations of federal hate crimes wherever they arise; to bring charges whenever they are warranted; and to support our state and local law enforcement partners in enforcing their own hate crimes laws.  And I pledge to you tonight that we will never stop working to ensure that equality under the law is protected by the law.
 
After all, this is the principle that drove the President and me to decide – in early 2011 – that Justice Department attorneys would no longer defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act.  We shared a strong belief that all measures that distinguish among people based on their sexual orientation must be subjected to a higher standard of scrutiny – and therefore that this measure was unconstitutional discrimination.  And as a result, last summer – on an extraordinary day that was made possible by so many of this organization’s members – the Supreme Court issued a historic decision striking down the federal government’s ban on recognizing gay and lesbian couples who are legally married.
 
This marked a critical step forward.  And it constituted a resounding victory for committed and loving couples throughout the country who fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents had been denied the recognition that they deserved; and for millions of family, friends, and supporters who wanted to see their loved ones treated fairly, and who worked tirelessly to make that a reality.
 
Thanks to the opinions handed down on that day – and the efforts of this organization and many others – there’s no question that this country stands at a new frontier in the fight for civil rights.  And I am pleased to report that the dedicated men and women of the Justice Department – under the outstanding leadership of Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Stuart Delery, who is here with us tonight – are leading national efforts to implement, and make real, the full promise of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Windsor case.
 
Already, my colleagues and I have announced the extension of significant benefits to Americans in same-sex marriages – including health insurance and other key benefits for federal employees and their families; a uniform policy ensuring that all same-sex married couples are recognized for federal tax purposes; and a policy dictating that – for purposes of immigration law – same-sex and opposite-sex marriages are treated exactly the same.
 
We also worked with the Department of Defense to determine that members of the military who are in same-sex marriages will receive the same benefits available to opposite-sex married couples.  Just last month, the Justice Department affirmed that – for purposes of federal law – same-sex marriages performed in the State of Utah will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits.  These marriages were valid when they were celebrated, and the federal government will acknowledge them as such.  And we will continue to coordinate with others across the government to ensure that those in lawful same-sex marriages across the country will receive every benefit to which they are entitled.
 
These initial changes will positively impact the lives of so many throughout the nation.  All of these steps forward are worth celebrating.  But I also want to make one thing very clear: for my colleagues, for me – and I know for all of you – they are only the beginning.
 
This is no time to rest on our laurels.  This is no time to back down, to give up, or to give in to the unjust and unequal status quo.  Neither tradition nor fear of change can absolve us of the obligation we share to combat discrimination in all its forms.  And, despite everything that’s been achieved, each of us has much more work to do.
 
We come together this evening at an exciting moment in history – one that is defined by challenge as well as opportunity.  As President Obama has said, “The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: that when all Americans are treated as equal…we are all more free.”
 
Tonight, I am proud to announce that the Justice Department is taking additional steps to further advance this “fundamental truth” – and to give real meaning to the Windsor decision.  On Monday, I will issue a new policy memorandum that will – for the first time in history – formally instruct all Justice Department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law.
 
This means that, in every courthouse, in every proceeding, and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States – they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections, and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law.  And this policy has important, real-world implications for same-sex married couples that interact with the criminal justice system.  For instance, as a result of this policy:
 
•  The Department will recognize that same-sex spouses of individuals involved in civil and criminal cases should have the same legal rights as all other married couples – including the right to decline to give testimony that might violate the marital privilege.  Under this policy, even in states where same-sex marriages are not recognized, the federal government will not use state views as a basis to object to someone in a same-sex marriage invoking this right.
 
•  In bankruptcy cases, the United States Trustee Program will take the position that same-sex married couples should be treated in the same manner as opposite-sex married couples.  This means that, among other things, same-sex married couples should be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly, that certain debts to same-sex spouses or former spouses should be excepted from discharge, and that domestic support obligations should include debts, such as alimony, owed to a former same-sex spouse.
 
•  Federal inmates in same-sex marriages will also be entitled to the same rights and privileges as inmates in opposite-sex marriages.  This includes visitation by a spouse, inmate furloughs to be present during a crisis involving a spouse, escorted trips to attend a spouse’s funeral, correspondence with a spouse, and compassionate release or reduction in sentence based on the incapacitation of an inmate’s spouse.
 
Beyond this, the Department will equally recognize same-sex couples for the purposes of a number of key benefits programs it administers, such as the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
 
Another key program is the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program.  It provides death benefits and educational benefits to surviving spouses of public safety officers, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, who suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries in the line-of-duty.  This program is one way that we, as a country, stand by the families of those who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe, and we must never do so selectively.  When any law enforcement officer falls in the line of duty or is gravely injured, the federal government should stand by that hero’s spouse – no matter whether that spouse is straight or gay.  Our policy memo on Monday will reflect this principle.
 
After all, this nation was built – and it continues to be improved – by patriotic men and women with abiding faith in the bedrock principle of equality.  From the suffragettes to the Freedom Riders – from Birmingham to Stonewall – America’s course has been determined, and our future defined, by those who act on the recognition that all are created equal.  By those who understand that this country’s diversity has always been one of its greatest strengths.  And by those who prove every day that we – as a people – are made greater, and wiser, and stronger when we value the contributions of every citizen – gay and straight, bisexual and transgender.  Black and white.  Young and old – whether they live in Washington or Wyoming; Massachusetts or Missouri.  Whether they work in schools or restaurants – on Wall Street or Main Street.  And whether they contribute to our nation as doctors or service members; as businesspeople or public servants; as scientists or as Olympic athletes.
 
In this great country, we move faster, we reach farther, and we climb higher whenever we stand together as one.  That’s why this Administration, this Department of Justice – and this Attorney General – will never stop fighting to ensure equal protection.  We will never rest in our efforts to safeguard the civil rights to which everyone in this country is entitled.  And we will never waver in our determination to build on the progress we’ve seen – and bring about the changes our citizens deserve.  But you must be our partners in this effort.  Everyone in this room, and everyone in the LGBT community, must be committed to ending all discrimination – discrimination based not only on sexual orientation, but also on race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin.  You must be active in those areas of the struggle as well.
 
We are, right now, in the middle of marking a number of 50-year anniversaries of key milestones in the Civil Rights Movement – from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, in 1963, to this summer’s anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The gains made during that period continue to be a source of great pride – not just for our country, but also for the building where I work.  At critical points along the way, the Justice Department played a leadership role in advancing that historic movement.  This was never more evident than when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sent his top deputy, Nick Katzenbach – whose portrait hangs in my personal office – to literally stare down racial discrimination in the schoolhouse door in order to enforce the integration of the University of Alabama.  It was my late sister-in-law, Vivian Malone, who walked through that University’s doors that day.  Without the bravery shown by her – and so many others like her – during the Civil Rights movement, I would not be standing before you today as the nation’s first African-American Attorney General.
 
And yet, as all-important as the fight against racial discrimination was then, and remains today, know this: my commitment to confronting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity runs just as deep.  Just as was true during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the stakes involved in this generation’s struggle for LGBT equality could not be higher.  Then, as now, nothing less than our country’s founding commitment to the notion of equal protection under the law was at stake.  And so the Justice Department’s role in confronting discrimination must be as aggressive today as it was in Robert Kennedy’s time.  As Attorney General, I will never let this Department be simply a bystander during this important moment in history.  We will act.
 
As we keep moving forward together, we will continue to rely on the passion, the expertise, and the steadfast commitment of groups like this one – and dedicated advocates like all of you.  Important, life-changing work remains before us, and we know from our history that the road ahead will be anything but easy.  Always remember that progress is not inevitable and that positive change occurs only through commitment and through struggle.
 
But as I look around this crowd tonight – at so many leaders who are helping to build, and taking part in, a movement that is truly historic – I cannot help but feel confident in our ability to keep moving forward together.  And I am profoundly optimistic about the country – and the world – that we will imagine; that we will plan for; and that each of us will surely help to create.  I welcome the opportunity to work with you in this endeavor.
 
Thank you.

February 09, 2014 in Bisexual, Business, Current Affairs, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT, Marriage, Media, Military, Politics, Religion, Transgender, Weblogs, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

‘The Day It Snowed In Miami: A Chronology of the LGBT-Rights Movement’ to premiere in March

SNOW poster

‘The Day It Snowed In Miami,’ a chronology of the LGBT-rights movement focusing on its early days during the Anita Bryant campaign in Miami-Dade County, is a feature-length documentary by Joe Cardona in association with the Miami Herald Media Company and WPBT2.

The film will air locally at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 6, on WPBT2 and nationally on PBS throughout the rest of 2014.

A premiere screening will be Tuesday, March 4, at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach. Tickets go on sale soon.

Click here to see the trailer and read our new 'The Day It Snowed In Miami' page.

January 31, 2014 in AIDS and Health, Arts, Bisexual, Books, Bullying, Business, Census, Crime, Current Affairs, Fashion, Film, Florida, Food and Drink, Fort Lauderdale & Broward County, Gay, Immigration, Key West & Monroe County, Lesbian, LGBT, Marriage, Media, Miami & Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Military, Music, Obituary, Palm Beach County, Pets, Politics, Religion, South Florida, Sports, Television, Theater, Transgender, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, Wilton Manors, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gay vet Rob Smith publishes African-American Iraq War memoir, ‘Closets, Combat and Coming Out’

News release from Andy Reynolds of Popular Publicity:

Gay Vet Publishes First African-American Iraq War Memoir "Closets, Combat and Coming Out: Coming of Age as a Gay Man in the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Army"

Author one of 12 Arrested at White House DADT Protests (November 2010)

“…a riveting first-hand account of a shameful time in our recent history when courageous men like Smith were forced to serve their country in silence." – Keith Boykin, New York Times bestselling author

January 14, 2014 – New York, NY – In "Closets, Combat and Coming Out," the first gay Iraq war memoir published post-DADT repeal – and the first Iraq war memoir written by an African-American, period – author and activist* Rob Smith comes to terms with his sexuality against the backdrop of the hyper-masculine and hyper-homophobic U.S. Army.

 

After surviving the notoriously brutal Infantry Basic Training as a chubby, fresh-off-the bus, 17-year-old, Smith is equally tortured by his homosexuality, privately battling isolation, paranoia and suicide, while remaining closeted to all but a few of his colleagues. At his first duty station, he finds himself in dangerous territory – on both military and personal fronts – after the United States declares war on Iraq and his unit is one of the first called in, after the initial invasion.

Honest, frank and eloquent, "Closets, Combat and Coming Out," reveals not only his personal experiences as a gay military man serving under DADT, but reminds us that for many LGBT men and women, the battle for equality in the eyes of the military is not over – regardless of the repeal of DADT: Transgender soldiers are still barred from serving openly, the U.S. Military still does not have a nondiscrimination policy in regards to sexual orientation, and thousands who were dishonorably discharged under DADT remain stripped of the hard-earned benefits to which they were rightfully entitled.

CCO_FRONTCOVER_72At turns funny, sad, sexy, and harrowing, "Closets, Combat and Coming Out" is a unique, revealing and deeply personal ground-level view of life on the front lines of race and sexuality in the United States military.

Available digitally via Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and in select progressive bookstores and LGBT booksellers. ISBN: 978-1-61929-132-4

Rob Smith is an openly gay 5-year Iraq war veteran, writer, lecturer, and LGBT activist. His work has been published by USA Today, CNN.com, Salon.com, The Advocate and The Huffington Post.

*In November 2010, he was arrested with 12 other LGBT military veterans and civilian activists at the front gates of the White House while protesting the U.S. Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) law, which barred open military service by gays and lesbians. In December of that same year, he was an invited guest of President Barack Obama at the ceremony which saw the repeal of the discriminatory law be signed and put into effect.

Click here to read more.

January 14, 2014 in Bisexual, Business, Current Affairs, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT, Media, Military, Politics, Religion, Transgender, Weblogs, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

Defense Secretary Hagel: All eligible National Guard same-sex spouses can now receive ID cards

About one month ago, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered nine states, including Florida, to provide military IDs for National Guard same-sex spouses.

Florida came into compliance in early November. Since then all other states are issuing military IDs, according to a statement released Friday by the White House:

Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Same-Sex Benefits

On Oct. 31, I called on the chief of the National Guard Bureau to work with several states to fully implement Department of Defense policy by providing DoD identification cards to all eligible military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation.  Following consultations between the National Guard Bureau and the adjutants general of the states, all eligible service members, dependents and retirees - including same-sex spouses - are now able to obtain ID cards in every state. All military spouses and families sacrifice on behalf of our country.  They deserve our respect and the benefits they are entitled to under the law.  All of DoD is committed to pursuing equal opportunities for all who serve this nation, and I will continue to work to ensure our men and women in uniform as well as their families have full and equal access to the benefits they deserve.

December 13, 2013 in Bisexual, Business, Current Affairs, Florida, Fort Lauderdale & Broward County, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT, Marriage, Media, Miami & Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Military, Politics, Religion, South Florida, Transgender, Weblogs, Wilton Manors, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

Steve Rothaus, gay ex-Marine Walker Burttschell to hold 2nd chatback after 'Fear Up Harsh' performance

Walker Burttschell of Miami Beach, who was forced out of the U.S. Marines during the height of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,' and I will be back at the Adrienne Arsht Center on Wednesday night for a second chatback following a performance of Zoetic Stage's world-premiere drama, Fear Up Harsh.

IF YOU GO

What: World premiere of ‘Fear Up Harsh’ by Christopher Demos-Brown.

Where: Zoetic Stage production in the Carnival Studio Theater at the Arsht Center’s Ziff Ballet Opera House, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.

When: Regular performances 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 24.

Cost: $39 with special code “gaysofla” for the Nov. 20 performance. $45 all other performances. (There is also a $4 charge for all ticket purchases.)

For more information: 305-949-6722; www.arshtcenter.org or www.zoeticstage.com.

November 20, 2013 in Arts, Bisexual, Business, Current Affairs, Florida, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT, Media, Miami & Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Military, Politics, Religion, Theater, Transgender, Weblogs, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

Video | Zoetic Stage presents lesbian-soldier drama 'Fear Up Harsh' at Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami

The creators of the Zoetic Stage’s world-premiere drama Fear Up Harsh discuss the creative process behind the play following a performance Nov. 13, 2013, at the Adrienne Arsht Center's Carnival Studio Theater.

Featured in the video: playwright Christopher Demos-Brown, co-star Karen Stephens and director Stuart Meltzer.

Click here for more information about Fear Up Harsh and to buy tickets. The play runs through Nov. 24.

Steve Rothaus will moderate a discussion following the 7:30 p.m. performance on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Video by Steve Rothaus and Kap Thanh Long / Miami Herald Staff/

November 14, 2013 in Arts, Bisexual, Business, Current Affairs, Florida, Fort Lauderdale & Broward County, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT, Media, Miami & Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Military, Politics, Religion, South Florida, Theater, Transgender, Weblogs, Wilton Manors, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

Steve Rothaus, gay ex-Marine Walker Burttschell to hold chats after two ‘Fear Up Harsh’ performances

Join me Wednesday night at the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theater for a performance of the world-premiere drama Fear Up Harsh by Christopher Demos-Brown.

“Incisive, amusing, sardonic and finally deeply affecting, the play underscores strengths Demos-Brown demonstrated in his earlier Carbonell Award-winning When the Sun Shone Brighter and the tart comedy Captiva. This is a playwright who crafts smart, insightful dialogue and memorable characters in service of compelling, engagingly theatrical stories,” writes Miami Herald theater critic Christine Dolen. “In Fear Up Harsh, Demos-Brown takes theatergoers into the world of military men and women, focusing on combat and sacrifice, how those deemed heroes are honored, and how war forever alters life for those who fight.”

Fear Up Harsh will be presented 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Afterward, I will moderate a chatback with the cast and creators, and special guest Walker Burttschell of Miami Beach, who was forced out of the U.S. Marines during the height of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

We will conduct a second chatback after the performance on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Use the code “gaysofla” for performances only on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20 and receive a $4 discount per ticket. 

IF YOU GO

What: World premiere of ‘Fear Up Harsh’ by Christopher Demos-Brown.

Where: Zoetic Stage production in the Carnival Studio Theater at the Arsht Center’s Ziff Ballet Opera House, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.

When: Regular performances 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 24.

Cost: $39 with special code “gaysofla” for performances on Wednesday, Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. $45 all other performances. (There is also a $4 charge for all ticket purchases.)

For more information: 305-949-6722; www.arshtcenter.org or www.zoeticstage.com.

November 11, 2013 in Arts, Bisexual, Business, Current Affairs, Film, Florida, Food and Drink, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT, Media, Miami & Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Military, Politics, Religion, South Florida, Television, Theater, Transgender, Weblogs, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

Miami Herald unveils trailer for upcoming LGBT-rights documentary, 'The Day It Snowed in Miami'

BY STEVE ROTHAUS, [email protected]

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 64-32 to ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. President Barack Obama says he supports the proposed law, but House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, does not.

On Tuesday, Illinois' legislature voted to approve gay marriage and the state is likely to become the 15th, plus the District of Columbia, where it's legal. And last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal government must recognize all legally sanctioned same-sex marriages.

The modern LGBT rights movement seems to be progressing with intense speed. Many believe it all began 36 years ago in South Florida, when the Miami-Dade Commission adopted a countywide gay-rights ordinance.

"There was this one political activist who was reported as saying, 'When hell freezes over, gay rights will pass in Miami,'" recalls historian Fred Fejes, a professor at Florida Atlantic University. "Well it just so happens that on the day they passed the legislation, that it snowed for the first and only time in recorded history in Miami."

Singer and Florida orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant successfully campaigned to repeal Miami-Dade's 1977 gay-rights law, launching unprecedented public debate on homosexuality across the nation and around the world.

It took 21 years for Miami-Dade County to pass a new gay-rights law in 1998. This time, the ordinance survived a 2002 repeal effort similar to Bryant's.

The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald in association with WPBT2 are completing an hour-long documentary about South Florida's role in the gay-rights movement. The movie, by Miami filmmaker Joe Cardona, is scheduled to air in early 2014.

It is titled The Day It Snowed in Miami.

November 07, 2013 in AIDS and Health, Arts, Bisexual, Bullying, Business, Current Affairs, Film, Florida, Fort Lauderdale & Broward County, Gay, Key West & Monroe County, Lesbian, LGBT, Marriage, Media, Miami & Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Military, Politics, Religion, South Florida, Transgender, Weblogs, Wilton Manors, Workplace, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0)

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