Jacksonville Fails Its LGBT Citizens, Rejects Work Protections

The City Council of Jacksonville, Fla. on Wednesday rejected an ordinance that would have protected people from being fired for being gay or transgender.

A version of the ordinance containing full LGBT protections failed by a 17-2 vote, while one only applying to "sexual orientation" and not "gender identity" failed by a 10-9 vote. The council was apparently swayed by a rightwing group that lobbied extensively against the protections.

"This is an extraordinary victory for the people of Jacksonville who rose up and made it clear they were not going to allow some secret council of elite powerbrokers or activists from outside Jacksonville to force extreme policies upon them," John Stemberger, president of the antigay of the Florida Family Policy Council, said, according to SouthFloridaGayNews.com. "I believe we are seeing the tables start to turn on 'gay rights' issues when Americans see how really extreme these left-wing activists are. These are not just people who have a same sex attraction and want to be left alone to freely define themselves. This is a radical group of political operatives who want to force their aberrant views on human sexuality upon the rest of society by the mandate and penalty of law."