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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Florida Adds Statewide Protections for LGBTQ Individuals

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Friday, February 5, 2021   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer or Questioning community is now fully protected under state law against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

Yesterday, the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which enforces civil-rights laws in the state, issued a notice that it will adhere to the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling in 'Bostock v. Clayton County,' a Georgia case prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Nadine Smith, executive director of the group Equality Florida, said the statewide protections make this a "monumental victory."

"At the local level, for example, more the 60% of the population in Florida is protected by local ordinances that preceded the Supreme Court decision," said Smith. "That meant 40% of our state had no local laws. And the clarity that they could go and file a discrimination complaint had not been there, until now."

Smith and other equal-rights advocates had urged the Legislature to pass the Florida Competitive Workforce Act, which would've made it illegal for an employer to fire someone based on sexual orientation.

But the measure has failed in the Republican-controlled Legislature every year for more than a decade.

While the Supreme Court ruling was already the law of the land, Smith said she believes the Florida Commission on Human Rights notice is still a significant step.

"So, this is huge, this is significant, this is a breakthrough moment for our state," said Smith. "And in terms of the protections, everywhere that sex discrimination exists in law, that includes sexual orientation and gender identity."

The ruling also comes after President Joe Biden signed an executive order outlining his administration's intentions to prevent and combat discrimination.

Smith also touted support from the business community and polling by Floridians. She said both are proof that the ruling was overdue.


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