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The Nov. 4 passage of Amendment 2 has led to a groundswell of activism and protests, as organizations—primarily associated with the national Join the Impact movement—continue to stage equality rights demonstrations. It could as well lead to new grassroots strategy among Florida’s gay political organizations.
On Tuesday, two months after the November election, leaders of several local and regional gay political organizations including SAVE Dade, Palm Beach Human Rights Council and Sarasota Equality Project announced the launch of Organizations United Together (OUT). OUT will act as a network of myriad local GLBT groups and allies to address equality issues throughout the state and attempt to bring increased visibility in communities where gay groups are lacking.
The organizers announced they will hold their first organizational meeting in Orlando Jan. 24.
The passage of statewide anti-GLBT amendments in Florida, Arizona and California was a wake up call for many in the movement, said OUT spokesperson Karen Doering.
“After Amendment 2 we did a lot of soul searching,” said Doering, a veteran gay rights attorney. “This last election has caused leaders in the gay movement to do some serious thinking.”
The nascent organization has yet to determine its priorities or set an agenda. However, Doering said, the group will likely focus its attention on the effort to repeal Gainesville’s trans-inclusive human rights ordinance that voters will decide March 24.
“Gainesville has huge national implications,” Doering said. “It’s a prime example of what we could get involved in.”
She said through its network, OUT can mobilize volunteers throughout the state to form phone banks and activate statewide resource to fight supporter of the repeal.
Missing from OUT is Equality Florida, the leading statewide LGBT political organization.
Doering said that OUT will work alongside Equality Florida on state-wide matters. She said the focus of OUT is to bring together smaller local organizations that can have an immediate impact on a given community.
“The primary difference is this is a federation of local groups working from the bottom up,” she said.
Organizers intend OUT to be effective in areas throughout the state where there are gay people, but not much organization. Issues such as developing Human Rights Ordinances and developing domestic partnership registries at municipal and county levels can be accomplished.
“It makes us stronger as a state,” Doering said. “I think working at the local level people are able to accomplish a lot and we can build local strengths.”
OUT looks to affect change in conservative Florida by mobilizing local organizations at a grassroots level, especially when it comes to lobbying bills that come before the state legislature.
Legislative issues such as including employment and housing protections for GLBT Floridians in the Florida Civil Rights Act and removing the 30-year ban on gay adoption are among the issues where OUT organizers hope to get involved with. This year, Doering said, OUT will encourage more organizations throughout the state to meet with elected leaders and start to win more support.
“If each local group will go and act locally,” Doering said. “We will make a bigger and bolder impact.”
PBHRC founder and president Rand Hoch is among the gay leaders on OUT’s organizing committee. He said his priority with OUT is to build local gay political groups in areas throughout the state where there is little organization
“We would like to cover the entire state and foster building organizations throughout the state,” Hoch said. “We don’t want there to be an area in the state where there is no visible group of gay people.”
OUT, Hoch said, is working on the premise that the more visible gay people are in a community the better the chances for increased political support.
The new group takes its cue from the emergence of ImpACT, the national grassroots effort to continue to demonstrate for full equality in as many communities as possible.
ImpACT Tallahassee organizer Lisa Comingore is among OUT’s organizing committee. ImpACT’s St. Petersburg chapter demonstrated at Gov. Charlie Crist’s wedding Dec. 12, and the Miami chapter will demonstrate at the old Miami Beach City Hall Saturday Jan. 10.
The ImpACT movement is largely internet-based. Hoch said he hopes the similar web activity will help connect gay organizations throughout the state, not only for organizing demonstrations, but for sharing information on how to get local measures like domestic partnership registries accomplished.
OUT also has a website www.outfl.org. At the moment only the group’s Jan. 5 press release is posted. But more information will be posted as the group develops.
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