Awaiting The Court's Ruling On The Palm Beach County Conversion Therapy Bans

Conversion therapy is a discredited counseling practice by which therapists and other health care providers seek to change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression through aversion treatment. The practice repeatedly been shown to harm LGBTQ+ youth.

We can not allow this barbaric practice to continue in Florida -- or anywhere else. 

Knowing there was no chance of anyone convincing the Florida Legislature to enact a law banning conversion therapy statewide, and inspired by a conversion therapy ban enacted by the City of Miami Beach, in 2016, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council began a two year campaign to ban conversion therapy throughout Palm Beach County.

Miami Beach First Assistant City Attorney Rob Rosenwald, West Palm Beach Assistant City Attorney Zoë Panarites, PBCHRC Board Member Trent Steele, and I carefully drafted a model ordinance to ban conversion therapy. We sought and received input from our colleagues at SAVE, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.  

On November 7, 2016, West Palm Beach became the first local municipality to enact the model ordinance, banning conversion therapy on youth throughout the city. Over the next eleven months, similar conversion therapy bans were enacted in Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Riviera Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, and Boca Raton.

PBCHRC shared the model ordinance with Alachua and Broward Counties, as well as the City of Tampa, all of which enacted virtually identical ordinances banning conversion therapy. 

Our local campaign culminated on December 19, 2017, when Palm Beach County enacted the first countywide conversion therapy ban in Florida. 

Immediately after the ban took effect, Liberty Counsel, an anti-LGBTQ hate group, filed suit in federal court on behalf of two therapists seeking to nullify the bans on conversion therapy for minors enacted by Palm Beach County and the City of Boca Raton. The plaintiffs argued that they should be allowed to continue to practice conversion therapy.  

In 2019, Judge Robin Rosenberg of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied Liberty Counsel's motion for preliminary injunctions. As a result, young LGBTQ+ people in Palm Beach County remain safe from the psychological abuse caused by conversion therapy. 

Having lost, Liberty Counsel has appealed the order to the U.S. District Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit. Briefs were filed and oral argument was held in February. We expect the appellate court ruling in the near future.

As mentioned above, the City of Tampa enacted a conversion therapy ban utlizing the PBCHRC model on April 6, 2017. Liberty Counsel immediately filed suit to nullify the ban. Unfortunately for LGBTQ+ youth, this time Liberty Counsel prevailed. Judge William Jung of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida struck down the ban, making it legal for conversion therapy practitioners in Tampa to once again "treat" LGBTQ+ children with their quackery. 

The City of Tampa appealed the ruling to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Although briefs have been filed, no date has been set for oral argument.  Therefore, a decision is no expected until later this year or early next year.

PBCHRC invites you to join a Virtual Town Hall sponsored by the National Equality Action Team (NEAT). 

The event will be held at 7:00 p.m. the evening after the appellate court decision is announced. NEAT's presenters will provide their analysis of the court's ruling. Since the court does not give notice when it issues decisions, specific details about the Town Hall will be sent out immediately following the ruling.

Interestingly, the panel of presenters does not include any of the attorneys who co-wrote the ordinances being challenged in court. Nor does the panel include any of the attorneys who argued the cases at the before Judge Rosenberg or the three judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit. Most significantly, none of the boots-on-the-ground activists involved in organzing to get the conversion therapy bans at issue enacted were invited to be on the panel. Still, the Virtual Town Hall may provide an interesting perspective on the future of conversion therapy ban across the country.

Click here to RSVP 

to attend the Virtual Town Hall.

Even if you can't attend, RSVP to receive a recording of the event.

Stay safe and keep healthy.

Judge Rand Hoch (ret.)

President and Founder

Palm Beach County Human Rights Council

Co-Sponsors of the Virtual Town Hall

Daniel S. Hall Social Justice Award recipient Endora Guillaume marches to demand change

The Board of Directors of the PBCHRC Charitable Foundation is so proud of  2020 Daniel S. Hall Social Justice Award recipient Endora Guillaume.

http://palmbeachpost.fl.app.newsmemory.com/?publink=2319f1655

More than 100 people march through downtown West Palm

By Hannah Winston

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

June 3, 2020

WEST PALM BEACH - Endora Guillaume, 18, stood on the stage of Meyer Amphitheatre on Tuesday, holding a sign with dozens of names of black men and women killed by police.

She told the crowd of protesters in downtown West Palm Beach that they may be here marching in solidarity over the killing of George Floyd last month, but this isn't the first person to die at the hands of law enforcement.

She told those in the crowd that they must educate themselves and continue pushing for change for everyone.

"George Floyd is not the only story you should know," she said.

About 200 people marched in downtown West Palm Beach Tuesday, similar to other demonstrations around the county and the world in recent days in protest of the killing of 46-year old black man by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

Guillaume, who just graduated from Park Vista and is headed to Howard University in the fall, said she was excited to see so many diverse people standing in together for the same cause.

One among them she was proudest of was her 16-yearold brother, Tristan.

She said, like many others who watched the video of the officer kneel down on Floyd's neck until he couldn't breathe, her brother was moved to march and demand change.It's a change she said she's happy to see has reached a global audience.

"It's really a collective power," she said. "It's got a now. If I go on my Twitter people are all posting the same video, they're seeing the protests were seeing."

The march began downtown, near City Hall and the Palm Beach County Courthouse and took the protesters all over the city from the railroad tracks and the on-ramp Australian Avenue, with city police and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office helping to block intersections.

Evagelia Angelakopoulos thinks that with several deaths of black men and women, like Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, so fresh in everyone's minds it has brought everyone together for a bigger cause.

"And I urge the young people to go out to the polls as much as they are at the protests," she said.

The crowd chanted "Hands up! Don't shoot!" and held signs reading "silence = compliance," "I understand I will never understand, however, I stand," and "police reform now." Their efforts won them cheers along the way from people in their apartment balconies and mechanics outside a tire-repair shop.

They stopped at Okeechobee to take a knee, then headed into Rosemary Square, where employees at the Publix Super Market came outside to watch and to raise a few fists in solidarity.

"We love you, Publix!" one marcher shouted.

As they marched on to the police station, they said they would not stop until they got justice. West Palm Beach Deputy Chief Rick Morris stopped by to talk with the crowd and said he supported their peaceful protests "I love you guys, I support youguys,andpleasestaysafe," he said, getting a hug from one of the men who led chants with the crowd.

As the march moved on, one supporter of President Donald Trump tried to taunt marchers, more than 100 strong at that point, from behind a police car. A marcher let him know his U.S. flag with Trump's face on it was upside down, prompting laughter from the crowd.

At Meyer Amphitheatre some of the marchers climbed onto the stage and spoke of their fears in dealing with police agencies and the question they want answered: When is it going to stop?

"I'm an African-American female. Every time I get stopped, every time I get pulled over, every time I see a cop, I'm shakinginfear.I'mscared,"one marcher said into a megaphone. "Am I going to die for a day? Am I going to be arrested today? Am I going to be the next Black Lives Matter victim?"

Those gathered in front of the stage then shouted out the names of people who have died in police custody. Some speakers reminded them of the fall's elections and the need to vote.

Sara Stearns, 19, said coming from a multinational background, she wasnt sure where she fit into the conversation. But continuing her advocacy after attending the March for Our Lives Rally in Washington, D.C., she said she knew she had to come out.

She's hopeful, but said she knows they need to change things know with her generation.

"There's not going to be any more time for us to fix this," she said.

PBCHRC Charitable Foundation Announces the Daniel S. Hall Social Justice Award Recipients

The PBCHRC Charitable Foundation has selected three local high school seniors - Kyle Ahern, Endora Guillaume, and Theo Shusterman - to receive the 2020 Daniel S. Hall Social Justice Awards. The awards are presented annually to college-bound graduating seniors who have demonstrated  an interest in advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ community. Each of the recipients will receive a $2,500 scholarship.

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC) is Florida's oldest, independent, non-partisan, political organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. The organization established the PBCHRC Charitable Foundation to fund educational scholarships and other charitable endeavors.

The Social Justice Awards are named after Daniel S. Hall, a local attorney who manages a financial counseling company. Hall, Treasurer of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council since 1990, is the Council's longest serving board member. As the father of three grown children, Hall has always had a strong interest in education. Over the years, has mentored several LGBTQ students.

Lake Worth Beach resident Kyle Ahern is a graduating senior at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts. A student in the Communication Arts Department, Vice President of his graduating class, Kyle served as the Editor-in-Chief of "Marquee", the school's yearbook.  Kyle was also Speech Captain of the Dreyfoos Speech and Debate team. In that capacity, he in speech and debate competitions throughout the nation, arguing for legislative action to ban conversion therapy and advocating for greater resources for queer victims of intimate partner violence. In light of COVID-19, Kyle organized an online speech tournament that will donate all of the proceeds to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Kyle will attend the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas - Austin, where he will study journalism.

"This scholarship means absolutely everything to me," said Kyle. "I will use the funds learn the skills necessary to fulfill my dream of a career reporting on  LGBTQ+ issues.

Park Vista Community High School graduating senior Endora Guillaume is a passionate activist and outspoken woman of Haitian descent. A Lake Worth Beach resident, she is Bright Futures Academic Scholar as well as a Cambridge AICE Merit Diploma recipient. At school, Endora has been active in both the school's Gender-Sexuality Alliance and Black Student Union.

This Fall, Endora will attend her dream school - Howard University to study political science on the school's  pre-law track with the intent of becoming a human rights lawyer and activist. At Howard, Endora intends to become active with the ACLU, the LGBTQIA Committee, the Black Student Alliance, and other social justice organizations. In addition, she hopes to intern for a Member of Congress.

"I am eager to use my education to make a real difference in the world and to ensure equal rights and fair treatment of all people, regardless of sex, religion, race, gender, etc.," said Endora.  "This scholarship will make a tremendous difference in my education and will help me begin my life's calling"

Theo Shusterman of West Palm Beach serves as Co-Vice President of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, where he organized the GSA Buddies Initiative and a community painting project. A gun-reform activist and Co-Director of March For Our Lives West Palm Beach, Theo will continue his social justice and advocacy efforts at Wesleyan University, where he plans to study political science and sociology.

"At Weslyan, I intend to study the relationship between LGBTQ+ people and other minority groups within the American political system," said Theo.

Since its inception in 2015, the Daniel S. Hall Social Justice Awards have been administered by PBCHRC Board Member Carly Cass, who will be passing the torch to PBCHRC Board Member Jasmin K. Lewis, incoming Chair of the PBCHRC Charitable Foundation's scholarship program.  

"Kyle, Endora and Theo have been passionate advocates for the local LGBTQ community," said Lewis. "The Foundation is proud to recognize their work by presenting them with the Daniel S. Hall Social Justice Awards."

Westlake, Florida's fastest growing city, to become the Sunshine State's first municipality to enact LGBTQ protections at a virtual meeting

May 12, 2020

At last night's meeting, the Westlake City Council unanimously voted to move forward with the Westlake Civil Rights Ordinance. When the law takes effect, discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, as well as race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, familial status, pregnancy, marital status, or genetic information, will be prohibited in Westlake. 

Westlake, Palm Beach County's newest and smallest city, has 531 registered voters and approximately 400 homes. However,plans call for 4,500 homes, 2 million square feet of commercial space, a private sports academy and day school, a grocery store, and a hospital. According to U.S. Census figures, Westlake is now the fastest growing city in Florida.

While thirty municipalities in Florida already have LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights laws, Westlake will be the first municipality in Florida to protect LGBTQ people, women and minorities virtually, using Webex. 

The LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights ordinance was proposed by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC) as part of the organization's "Palm Beach County: You're Welcome!" campaign.

PBCHRC is Florida's oldest, independent, non-partisan, political organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Over the years, PBCHRC has been responsible for the implementation of more than 140 laws and policies providing equal protections, rights and benefits for the LGBTQ community.

"The U.S. Congress and the Florida

Legislature have failed to enact any civil rights laws protecting gay, lesbian and gender nonconforming individuals," said PBCHRC President and Founder Rand Hoch. "Therefore, the responsibility to prohibit discrimination rests on the elected officials in Florida's counties and municipalities."

"PBCHRC's 'Palm Beach County: You're Welcome!' campaign encourages municipalities to enact LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights laws," PBCHRC Board Member Tamara Sager told City Council Members via Webex. "Your ordinance will educate Westgate residents and business owners of their civil rights and responsibilities."

"While our country is on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Westlake City Council Members found no reason to delay moving forward with the civil rights ordiance," said Sager. "That shows true leadership."

"The enactment of the Westlake Civil Rights Ordinance will help attract more homeowners to our city," said Vice Mayor Katrina Long-Robinson, who introduced the ordinance at tonight's meeting. "In addition, the ordinance will help bring jobs, revenue and resources to Westlake."

PBCHRC's campaign has encouaged public officials in Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Lake Worth Beach, Ocean Ridge, Palm Beach County, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach and Wellington to enact local LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights laws   . 

Similar ordinances are under consideration by the Haverhill Town Council and the North Palm Beach Village Council. 

Although Florida has sixty-seven counties, only twelve - Alachua, Broward, Duval,  Hillsborough, Leon, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Volusia Counties - have LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights ordinances.

Westlake will join thirty other Florida municipalities - Atlantic Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Dunedin, Fernandina Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville,  Greenacres, Gulfport, Jacksonville, Key West, Lake Worth Beach, Leesburg, Mascotte, Miami, Miami Beach, Mount Dora, North Port, Oakland Park, Orlando, Pembroke Pines, St. Augustine Beach, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa, Venice, Wellington, West Palm Beach and Wilton Manors - that have enacted LGBTQ-inclusive municipal civil rights ordinances.

"Sadly, 55 counties and 381 municipalities in Florida have no laws protecting LGBTQ Floridians from discrimination," said Hoch. "A great deal of work on civil rights remains to be done in the Sunshine State."

The Westlake Civil Rights Ordinance is set to take effect on June 11, 2020, following final reading of the ordinance,

Census 2020 You Count! We Count!

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council is working with the Palm Beach County Multicultural Committee and Complete Count Committee to encourage LGBTQ people to complete the 2020 Census. 

 

The Census is our once-in-a-decade opportunity for government, researchers, and advocates to gather national data on the U.S. population and allocate resources accordingly. The results determine the number of congressional seats assigned to each state and how billion of dollars in federal funds are alocated to state and local governments.

"Florida is the third largest state in the United States, and Palm Beach County is the third largest county in the State of Florida," said PBCHRC Board Member Tamara Sager, who is spearheading PBCHRC's efforts to ensure a complete count of the county's LGBTQ and allied residents. "It is imperative that we account for every person in every household within Palm Beach County."

To participate in 

the 2020 Census,

click here.

Currently, the population of Palm Beach County is approximately 1.5 million people. This equates to $2.4 billion a year or $24 billion over 10 years for education, health care, housing, transportation, infrastructure and other programs and services funded by the federal government. 

Counting LGBTQ People in the U.S.

 

Nationwide polling data over the years suggests that approximately 4 percent of people living in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ -- or approximately 10 million Americans. 

The U.S. Census has never included questions about sexual orientation or gender identity -- and despite our best efforts, the 2020 census is no different. Therefore, even after 2020 census reports are issued in the upcoming years, there will still be no accurate count of LGBTQ people residing in our country. However, when examining housholds, the 2020 Census allows lesbian and gay couples to self-identify. One (very) small step forward for our community.

While we still await questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to be added to the census, this is a crucial opportunity for LGBTQ households to be counted. That will bring us one step closer to understanding and identifying our community members in Palm Beach County, Florida, and throughout the United States.

Responding to the Census Remains Important.

Hopefully, by now you have participate in the Census.  However, if you did not, please now.

It only takes a few minutes to participate in the 2020 Census 

and 

PBCHRC encourages you to do so.

  

We all have plenty of free time thse days.

To participate in 

the 2020 Census,

click here.

Please share this information with your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. 

Boynton Beach To Designate Gender Neutral Municipal Restrooms Citywide

APRIL 21, 2020

At tonight's meeting, the Boynton Beach City Commission unanimously directed city staff to designate the single-occupancy restrooms in all city-owned properties as "Gender Neutral."

Restrooms in the city's Town Square project, which is expected to open this summer, also will be designated as gender neutral. Phase One of Town Square includes the new city hall and library, the police station, a fire station, a cultural center, and an amphitheater.  Residential and retail spaces, as well as a hotel and parking garages, will be constructed later.

"Boynton Beach will be the first municipality in Palm Beach County to have gender neutral restrooms in all municipal properties." said Boynton Beach City Commissioner Ty Penserga, who brought up discussion of all gender restroom s at tonight's meeting.

Earlier this year, West Palm Beach installed gender-neutral restroom signs in the City Hall complex; however, that city has yet to expand their all gender restroom project to include any other municipal buildings.

Penserga initiated the discussion at the Boynton Beach City Commission meeting following a request made by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC). PBCHRC is Florida's oldest, independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. 

"Boynton Beach fosters an environment that values diversity," said PBCHRC Board Member Rhonda Williams. "The designation of all gender restrooms will result in less hassle for people who don't fit neatly into some people's expectations of what it looks like to be male or female.

"Designating restrooms as all gender not only benefits people who do not identify as male or female, but also makes it easier for parents and caregivers to assist their opposite sex children, family members, and patients," added Penserga.

"Transgender, gender nonconforming, non-binary, and intersex people often face prejudice, discrimination and humiliation in their everyday lives," said PBCHRC President and Founder Rand Hoch. "They deserve the same dignity and respect as everyone else enjoys, in every area of their lives - including being able to use restrooms in which they feel comfortable."

A 2015 study by the National Center for Transgender Equality  found that 59% of transgender adults avoided using a public restroom out of fear of confrontation and 32% limited how much they ate or drank just to avoid using a public restroom

.

According to a 2016 study published by The Williams Institute, an estimated 0.6% of adult Americans identify as transgender. With more than 100,000 transgender adults, Florida ranks sixth in the United States.

Palm Beach County also has been asked by PBCHRC to designate single-occupancy restrooms in county owned buildings as all gender. The county's Director of Facilities Development & Operations has recommended the designation in a report to County Commissioners, who will consider her recommendation later this year.

Vermont, New Mexico, Illinois, and California, as well as in the cities of Austin, Chicago, Denver, Gainesville, Hoboken, Miami Beach, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle and Washington, DC., have enacted laws mandating that single-occupancy toilets in public spaces be labeled gender-neutral. In addition, more than 200 colleges and universities throughout the United States also require gender neutral restrooms.

Meet Ray Caranci -- Florida's newest LGBTQ elected official

March 27, 2020 While the results in almost all Florida's March 17 municipal elections were determined within hours after the polls closed, it was very different in the race for Haverhill Town Council (Seat 2).  When all the votes were counted, there were 153 votes for Ray Caranci, an openly-LGBTQ candidate endorsed by the  Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance  (PBCHRCVA), and 152 votes for incumbent Daniel Sohn.  Since the margin was less than one-percent of the total votes cast, a mandatory recount was conducted on March 20 -- and there was no change in the count. However, one overseas ballot had not yet been returned, and the race could not be called.  In accordance with the Florida Election Code, the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections was required to wait until office hours ended today -- ten days after Election Day -- for the ballot to be returned, properly postmarked, and executed.  Had the ballot arrived timely and included a vote for the incumbent, the election would have resulted in a tie and a run-off election would be required to be held before the end of March. That would have been a logistical nightmare for the Supervisor of Elections, the Town of Haverhill, the two candidates, and the Town's voters.  Haverhill Town Council Member-elect Ray Caranci with Compass Executive Director and CEO Julie Seaver Fortunately, when the Supervisor's office confirmed that all the mail had arrived today, the solitary overseas ballot had not been returned. This resulted in Ray Caranci being elected.  When he is sworn in as a Haverhill Town Council Member, on April 9, Ray will become Palm Beach County's -- and Florida's -- newest openly-LGBTQ elected official.    Congratulations Ray! Certified as an arborist and landscape inspector, Ray has worked for the City of West Palm Beach's Development Services Department as a landscape planner for more than five years. His job is to ensure developers' projects are as green and sustainable as possible. Prior to accepting the position in West Palm Beach, Ray spent more than eight years working in city planning as a forestry and development compliance technician for the City of Palm Beach Gardens. Ray and his husband Scott have lived in Haverhill for the past fifteen years and have been together since 1989. Not wanting to wait until marriage equality came to Florida, Ray and Scott were married in Ashville, North Carolina in 2014 after the federal court there recognized marriage equality as a fundamental right.   Ray, third from the left, at the Palm Beach County Courthouse. On June 26, 2015, the U. S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, bringing marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples nationwide. Ray celebrated the decision at a rally at the Palm Beach County Courthouse, and landed on the front page of the South Florida Sun- Sentinel. Over the years, LGBTQ people in Palm Beach County have been elected to office in Boynton Beach, Cloud Lake, Haverhill, Lake Park, Lake Worth Beach, Lantana, Manalapan, Pahokee, Palm Beach Shores, Riviera Beach, and West Palm Beach.  "Palm Beach County is unique in Florida, as close to one-third of our municipalities have elected LGBTQ mayors, commissioners, and council members since PBCHRCVA first started endorsing candidates in 1988," said retired judge Rand Hoch, President and Founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC). PBCHRC is Florida's oldest, independent, non-partisan, political organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.