JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Liberty Counsel released a three-page legal memorandum today proving that Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry can still legally veto the so-called "Human Rights Ordinance" (HRO), 2017-15, passed by the City Council last week. The ordinance is not final law until after the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
The research and memo was prepared by Liberty Counsel's Assistant Vice President of Legal Affairs, Roger Gannam, a former long-time Jacksonville resident. Gannam previously testified at a specially-called city council meeting against the proposed ordinance that would add "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" as protected classes under Jacksonville law. The HRO was previously defeated twice in Jacksonville, with help from Liberty Counsel and others. However, radical leftist activists are trying to impose this special LGBT rights ordinance on Jacksonville's citizens and businesses, hoping to implement its most objectionable provisions through deceptive language.
The General Counsel has erroneously claimed that the HRO is final law, and therefore the mayor is unable to veto it. The legal memo clearly demonstrates this is not correct from a review of the City Charter provisions.
Because Mayor Curry still has the legal power to veto the HRO, hundreds of Jacksonville women are gathering this Wednesday, February 22, 2017, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., for a rally and press conference outside on the sidewalks around City Hall and in Hemming Plaza. At 12:30 p.m., various women are scheduled to make public statements to the media urging the mayor to veto the HRO because the law would force them and their daughters to shower, dress and use bathrooms with men.
"We urge Mayor Curry to do the right thing and veto this ridiculous 'Human Rights Ordinance,'" said Gannam. "Jacksonville does not have an LGBT discrimination problem that needs to be solved. This law unnecessarily puts women in harm's way by opening their facilities to men, and forces Jacksonville's businesses and citizens to celebrate the same-sex relationships of others under threat of fines and even loss of their business."
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
