FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 2, 2014
CONTACT: ACLU of Florida Media Office, media@aclufl.org, (786) 363-2737
MIAMI, FL - Today, the Miami-Dade County Commission voted in favor of a proposed change to the County’s Human Rights Ordinance to include protections for people who are transgender.
The Human Rights Ordinance – which protects against discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and housing – will now prohibit discrimination against people based on gender identity or expression.
The ACLU of Florida had urged the Commission to pass the proposed legislation, though it expressed reservations about the broadness of the Ordinance’s religious exemption.
Responding to the vote, ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon stated:
“This is a historic day for fairness in Miami-Dade County and for the thousands of transgender persons who call the county their home.
“People should be judged based on their merits and qualifications – period. This basic principle of equality is one that people in this county pride themselves on, and which the Human Rights Ordinance protects. For decades, this ordinance has been the battleground for some of the most important fights between those who want a fairer and welcoming community and those who would use religion as a tool to discriminate. Today, fairness won.
“We thank the members of the Commission for taking this important step to expand the Ordinance’s protections, and are thrilled that transgender people living in Miami-Dade County can now share in the protection of their civil rights.”
The ACLU of Florida had sent a letter to the members of the Miami-Dade County Commission urging the passage of the changes to the ordinance. A copy of that letter is available here: https://aclufl.org/resources/letter-to-miami-dade-commission-on-transgender-protections-in-human-rights-ordinance/
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