Openly gay mayor elected in Florida
GayPolitics. com reports Broward County, Fla., became one of the largest jurisdictions in the United States to be governed by an openly gay elected official when County Commissioner Ken Keechl was elected mayor Nov. 17.
Dan Pinello, past chairman of the LGBT caucus of the American Political Science Association, said the election was significant because of the politics of the area.
“That’s progress where there’s a lot needed.” Pinello said. “In places like Florida or Texas, it is comparatively monumental.”
Ala. legislator attempts to block same-sex benefits
Montgomery’s NBC 12 WSFA.com reports an Alabama legislator has drafted a bill that would stop the state’s public universities from offering employee benefits to same-sex couples.
The bill, drafted by Republican Rep. DuWayne Bridges of Valley, would prohibit public universities from receiving state funds if they offer benefits to same-sex partners.
His bill is aimed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, which provide benefits for domestic partners of faculty and staff.
A UAB spokesperson said UAB needs to offer the benefits to be competitive.
Hate crimes against gays up in Calif.
MercuryNews.com reports the California Attorney General’s office said that more gay and Jewish people were the victims of hate crimes last year, even though the overall number of bias-related crimes declined slightly.
A report released Nov. 13 showed that 1,397 crimes were motivated by racial, religious and other forms of bias in 2008, a 2-percent drop from a year earlier.
More than half were based on a victim’s race or ethnicity and, of these, the vast majority were directed against black people.
Hate crimes based on religious bias were the second-most common.
In 2008, there were 184 assaults, threats and other crimes directed at Jews, a 37-percent increase from the year before.
Incidents targeting gays and lesbians rose by 28 percent, from 344 to 440.
— Larry Nichols