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Vandalism of GLBT Community Center - Mon Nov 16 2009

Vandalism of GLBT Community Center and area business with Homophobic messages
ORLANDO, FL, Monday, November 16, 2009 – The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida, more commonly known as The Center, was vandalized along with neighboring gay owned businesses with homophobic messages and symbols last night. The Center was spray painted with a swastika and the words “Gay Pawer” while gay owned business Ritzy Rags was spray painted with “Die Fags” “Go To Hell” and other homophobic slurs.

The damage to the two buildings will result in over $1,000.00 in repairs.The Center is working to cover the messages on the building to deter additional damage.

Fundraising efforts to install security cameras have been intensified in the wake of this incident. "We feel this act is clearly homophobic and transphobic in nature. It is meant to invoke fear in our community. However, we will not act in fear, and we will not close our doors. This act illustrates how our services are still badly needed throughout the Central Florida and we will come out stronger and more united as a community. ” said Micheal Vance, Executive Director of The Center.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida (commonly known as The Center) has been in operation for more than 30 years. The Center was established as a safe haven for the GLBT community in Central Florida in 1978. Today The Center offers a variety of support and social programs including AA, NA, CODA, HIV+ and transgender support groups, CMA, counseling for individuals and couples at a reduced cost, free counseling for youth, and various social groups. The Center serves more than 15,000 individuals a year.

The Center Community Connection - Thu Aug 6 2009


	Community Connection
	August 6, 2009
In This Issue ENDA Introduced in Senate Poker Tournament - Resgister NOW! Local bartender beautifies The Center! Fill The Rainbow Flag* Make your pledge today! Click here to Donate Contact Us www.glbcc.org info@glbcc.org 407-228-8272	ENDA introduced in Senate yesterday August 5, 2009 Yesterday, Senator Jeff Merkly (D OR) introduced the Employement Non- Discrimination Act (ENDA) to the Senate. If passed, ENDA would protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination in the workplace based on their sexual orientation and their gender idetity and has been in the making for over a decade now. Senator Merkly's introduction of the bill, with Senators Snowe (R-ME) and Kennedy (D-MA) signing on as co- sponsors, represents our best chance yet at passing ENDA. For more information on ENDA go to www.glbcc.org and click on the news tab. Poker Tournament Scheduled-Register now! Sunday, August 16th, 2009. 1pm. The Center will host our next All-In No-Limit Texas Hold 'em Poker Tournament on Sunday, August 16th, 2009. Prizes include $300.00 Visa Gift Card. For more information, go to www.glbcc.org and click on the news tab. Buy-in for a suggested donation of $40.00. Beverages provided by Savoy Orlando and Paradise Orlando. The Center gets a face-lift! Local Savoy Orlando and Paradise Orlando bartender extraordinaire, Brandon, was photographed by the papparazzi while helping clean up and re-plant the landscaping at The Center. Stop by and see what a great job he did. Thanks Brandon!

ENDA introduced to Senate - Wed Aug 5 2009

Urgent Action Alert: ENDA Introduced Minutes Ago, Contact Your Senators Today Senator Jeff Merkly (D OR) has introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (or ENDA) to the senate. If passed, ENDA would protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination in the workplace based on their sexual orientation and their gender identity and has been in the making for over a decade now. Senator Merkly’s introduction of the bill, with Senators Snowe (R ME) and Kennedy (D MA) signing on as co-sponsors, represents our best chance yet at passing ENDA. But, we’re not there yet, and in the coming weeks we need everyone to do their bit so that we can realize this great step forward for the LGBT community. Call, Write and Meet Your Senators - You can play a major part in passing ENDA in several ways. You can call your representatives in Washington D.C. and ask them to support and co-sponsor The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (HR 3017), and ask your friends, family, and constituents to do the same.

These phone calls do not take a lot of time, but have great influence on the decisions made by your lawmakers. You can reach your senators by calling the Senate Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. - You can also write your representatives. In these letters you can explain why ENDA is so important to you specifically and to the LGBT community as a whole, and share any direct, or indirect, experience with workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity you may have encountered. Like in your phone calls, urge your representatives to support and co-sponsor ENDA. You can write to your representatives by going to the US Senate Website. Click Here

However, the most direct way of communicating with your representatives is by requesting a meeting. During the summer recess, members of Congress travel back to their districts and have time available to meet up with voters. Such a meeting is an excellent opportunity to try to explain the importance of ENDA in a direct manner. Please get in touch with the local office of your representative and explain what you want to talk about, and request a meeting. Before you organize the meeting, please read the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund’s ENDA Toolkit, which has all the practical information you will need.

For more information about ENDA please read the or the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund’s ENDA Toolkit.

Be on the lookout for our exclusive policy paper series which will be presented later this month, and will provide you with all the resources needed to help move along important legislation and to work with your entire community to do so.

What is ENDA?The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (or ENDA) is a piece of federal legislation that, if passed, will defend employees across the United States against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. ENDA will offer lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees the same protection existing federal discrimination laws already give to other classes of workers.

What will ENDA do? When passed, ENDA will ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in all aspects of employment, including hiring, termination, promotion and compensation. ENDA will guarantee that no worker can be discriminated against in the workplace for their sexual orientation or gender identity. It will also ensure that nobody affiliated with the LGBT community will be discriminated against on the job. If passed, ENDA will be another step towards true workplace equality and accountability.

What kind of state-level laws are there currently comparable to ENDA? As of July 2009 a sizeable number of states already have different types of legislation on the state level comparable to what ENDA would be on a federal level: twelve states (California, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington) and the District of Columbia have policies that protect against both sexual orientation and gender identity. An additional seven states (Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin, Delaware) have state laws that protect only against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Five states (Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania) have an executive order, administrative order, or personnel regulations prohibiting discrimination against public employees based on both sexual orientation and gender identity. An additional three states (Arizona, Montana, Virginia) have such orders but only for sexual orientation.

So why is ENDA necessary? While these states, with diverging rules, already protect individuals from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and many businesses have sexual orientation in their workplace nondiscrimination policies, it is still legal in thirty states to fire an employee based on sexual orientation, and in thirty-eight states to fire an employee based on gender identity. Therefore, federal legislation is necessary to expressly prohibit workplace discrimination in all forms all across the United States. To what businesses will ENDA apply? If passed, ENDA will apply to private employers with 15 or more employees, labor unions, employment agencies, and federal, state and local governments. Exempted from ENDA will be the Armed Forces of the United States, religious institutions, and employers with less than 15 employees.

Is it absolutely necessary that ENDA includes gender identity? Yes. Unlike previous drafts of the law the current version of ENDA specifically includes gender identity. This is important because the transgender members of the LGBT community face perhaps the harshest and most direct forms of discrimination in the workplace. It is vital that if ENDA is passed it includes gender identity. What about business owners who fear ENDA will limit their options? ENDA will not restrict businesses in any way. For example, it does not require companies to create additional bathrooms, nor does it restrict companies from implementing dress codes, or does it require companies to submit to quotas of any kind. What ENDA will do is make certain that employees are not judged on anything but their work.

What can you do? Call or write your representatives and urge them to support ENDA or contact your representatives’ offices and try to get a face to face meeting with your representative. When you meet with your representative, please keep the following in mind:

It is best to meet with a small group of individuals who have direct, or indirect experience with workplace discrimination based on sexual preference or gender identity.

Make sure you study the material available on ENDA, such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund’s ENDA Toolkit.

Do not feel deterred if you do not get specific guarantees from your representative, these meetings are part of what will shape the eventual vote this representative will make.

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