Wednesday, December 30, 2020

The Year in Review -- and 2019 Too!

 

A look back at LGBTQ progress
 throughout Palm Beach County
over the past two years

DECEMBER 2020
  • The City of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County file Joint Petition for Panel Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc in Otto v. City of Boca Raton, the case seeking to strike down their ordinances banning conversion therapy. 
  • The Cities of Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Lake Worth Beach, Riviera Beach, and West Palm Beach, Florida join the City of Miami's amicus brief in support of The City of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County's Joint Petition for Panel Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc in Otto v. City of Boca Raton
  • West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James signs on to the Freedom for All Americans letter to Members of Congress urging them to enact comprehensive federal LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections. 
  • The City of West Palm Beach earns a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Municipal Equality Index. Only six other municipalities in Florida were awarded 100 points.

NOVEMBER 2020
  • A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reverses the District Court’s denial of plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction in Otto v. City of Boca Raton and remands the case to the District Court, thus allowing the therapists to, once again, practice their quackery on local children.
  • The City of South Bay adopts an LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights resolution.

OCTOBER 2020
  • The City of Riviera Beach enacts an LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights ordinance.
  • The Commissioners of the Port of Palm Beach unanimously vote to add "gender identity or expression" to the Port's Equal Opportunity Statement for all Port policies and contracts.
  • PBCHRC Board Member G. Joseph Garcia is named to the Board of Directors for the FSU Pride Alumni Network

SEPTEMBER 2020
  • The Towns of Haverhill and Juno Beach enact LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights ordinances.
  • The City of Palm Beach Gardens adopts a resolution denouncing hate crimes and discrimination against LGBTQ people.

AUGUST 2020
  • The Village of North Palm Beach enacts an LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights ordinance.
  • The City of West Palm Beach amends its Equal Opportunity Ordinance by extending protection from discrimination to employees working for small businesses (those with 5-14 employees).
  • PBCHRC Board Member Chauncey Graham is appointed to serve on the West Palm Beach Mayor's Task Force for Racial and Ethnic Equality and selected for Leadership Florida Connect 2021.

JULY 2020
  • PBCHRC Board Member Jasmin Lewis is named Victory Fund Empowerment Fellow.

JUNE 2020
  • The City of Westlake enacts an LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights ordinance.
  • G. Joseph Garcia is named Chair of PBCHRC Charitable Foundation.


MAY 2020
  • PBCHRC Board Member Jasmin Lewis elected delegate to Democratic National Convention.
  • The 2020 Daniel S. Hall Social Justice Awards are presented to graduating seniors Kyle Ahern and Theo Shusterman of the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, and to Endora Guillaume of Park Vista Community High School


APRIL 2020
  • The Boynton Beach City Commission unanimously votes to designate all single-occupancy restrooms in municipal properties "All Gender."
  • PBCHRC becomes a “trusted voice” for the County efforts regarding the 2020 U.S. Census.

MARCH 2020 
  • Ty Penserga, an openly gay man, was re-elected to the Boynton Beach City Commission and became the city's Vice Mayor.
  • Ray Caranci, an openly gay man, is elected to the Haverhill Town Council.

FEBRUARY 2020
  • Palm Beach County‘s Facilities Development & Operations Department designates single-occupancy restrooms in properties owned and leased by the County as “All Gender.”
  • PBCHRC Board Member Tamara Sager joins the Palm Beach County Multicultural Committee and Complete Count Committee.

JANUARY 2020
  • The City of West Palm Beach designates the single-occupancy restrooms in the City Hall Complex as "Gender Neutral."

NOVEMBER 2019
  • Lake Worth Beach City Commissioners unanimously adopt a resolution aimed at eliminating bullying and harassment in city facilities and at programs provided by the city.
  • Palm Beach County, the Cities of Delray Beach and West Palm Beach, the Village of Wellington sign on to the appellate brief filed by the City of Miami Beach in opposition to the decision of an Orange County circuit court judge that nullified that county’s LGBTQ-inclusive Human Rights Ordinance.

OCTOBER 2019
  • The PBCHRC Charitable Foundation makes a grant of $1,000 to the Palm Beach Gardens High School Gay-Straight Alliance.

AUGUST 2019
  • The PBCHRC Charitable Foundation makes an initial grant to the University of Virginia to pay for the meal plan for a gay student, a graduate of Forest Hill High School, for each semester until he graduates, provided he maintains a C average.

JULY 2019
  • The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners amends the definition of “sexual orientation" in the County’s Ordinance for Housing and Places of Public Accommodation from "male or female homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality, by preference or practice" to "heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality, whether actual or perceived."

JUNE 2019
  • PBCHRC establishes the PBCHRC Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization created to fund educational scholarships and other charitable endeavors.

MAY 2019
  • Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw establishes an LGBTQ Liaison Unit to promote a positive relationship between PBSO and the LGBTQ community.

APRIL 2019
  • PBCHRC President Rand Hoch is appointed to serve on the Government Efficiency, Budget and Taxes Policy Committee of the transition team for West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James.
  • The City of West Palm Beach is ranked the second-best city in the country for LGBTQ-friendly retirees, according to SeniorAdvice.com.
  • The 2019 Daniel S. Hall Social Justice Awards are presented to graduating seniors Eric Burchill of Wellington High School and Kavyasree Chigurupati of A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts.

MARCH 2019
  • Ty Penserga, an openly gay man, is elected to serve as a Boynton Beach City Commissioner.

FEBRUARY 2019
  • The Lake Worth City Commission unanimously adopts a resolution urging state legislators from Palm Beach County to support the Florida Inclusive Workforce Act.
  • The West Palm Beach City Commission unanimously adopts a resolution urging state legislators from Palm Beach County to support the Florida Inclusive Workforce Act.

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