Replies

Re posts #25 and 25

OK; it seems like it did pass - but there is already talk of another petition to repeal it. So, still in flux. I think gays probably want this to be a state law via executive order. And, for that, Reno would be the one and only.

Posted on Thu, Sep. 12, 2002

The Miami Herald

Narrow victory for gay rights in Dade

Repeal group vows another petition drive

BY KARL ROSS
kross@herald.com

The fight to preserve a Miami-Dade County law that protects people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation has succeeded, a Herald analysis of uncounted precincts indicates.

Leaders of No to Discrimination/SAVE Dade, the group leading the fight against the repeal effort, claimed victory Wednesday, with results available from all but a few precincts. The repeal supporters vowed to mount a petition drive to try again.

Anti-repeal leaders took satisfaction in the win, although the margin of victory in Tuesday's referendum vote was less than they hoped -- and substantially lower than a Herald/NBC 6 poll last week predicted.

''Six points is still six points -- it's not chump change in a county this size,'' said Jorge Mursuli, one of Say No's organizers.

Take Back co-chairman Nathaniel Wilcox called the election a ''travesty'' and said the group intends to redouble its efforts.

The group forced the referendum vote with a late 2000 petition drive that, while successful, triggered a criminal inquiry that recently led to the arrest of four group members.

''Whatever happens, if push comes to shove, we are going to start gathering signatures again,'' Wilcox said.

``Just because we were not successful this time around, we are not giving up. We will not be slighted. We are not discouraged. We are emboldened.''

Wilcox said that anti-repeal groups outspent Take Back by a considerable margin -- as much as 10-to-1, campaign finance records show.

''They spent millions of dollars to defeat our efforts,'' Wilcox said. ``And we operated on a shoe-string budget and we did excellent.''

Wilcox noted the group's initial petition drive, in early 2000, failed. He said a second referendum could put the repeal movement over the top.

`SPECIAL RIGHTS'

Take Back leaders argued they were seeking to repeal unnecessary ''special rights'' for gays and lesbians, while opponents countered the sexual-orientation amendment added to the county's human rights law in 1998 only ensures equal rights.

A spokesman for the Family Research Council, a national organization that contributed money to Take Back's campaign for a late-hour advertising offensive, also found cause for optimism in the referendum loss.

''Regardless of how the final vote comes out, it's interesting that this vote is so much closer than some of the polls indicated,'' said council analyst Peter Sprigg. ``What this says to me is pro-homosexual activists are much more effective in bullying people into silence in public. But in the privacy of the voting booth, people feel free to express their skepticism about this kind of legislation.''

POLLS MISLEADING

A poll conducted for The Herald and NBC 6 last week showed the repeal being defeated by about 20 percentage points -- a wider margin than the apparent 6 percentage point difference on Tuesday.

Political analysts say polls on touchy subjects such as gay rights, immigrants and minority rights often miss the mark.

''On polls like this people often give the socially desireable answer and don't want to admit to somebody they don't know they're a homophobe,'' said Kevin Hill, a political science professor at Florida International University.

HIGH-PROFILE BACKERS

Hill added that support for the anti-repeal cause from business and elected leaders did little to sway voters.

''Well, who listens to the Beacon Council? What voter cares what they think?'' Hill said about the county's economic development arm. ``It may show that opinion leaders do not have the same kind of influence over people on personal issues like this.''

One voting bloc that seemed to respond to Take Back's emotional appeal was Hispanic voters, who backed the repeal 63 percent to 37 percent, according to a county sample of predominantly Hispanic precincts. The other ethnic groups -- blacks and non-Hispanic whites -- opposed the repeal.

VOTER CONFUSION

Political consultant Armando Gutiérrez said he believes a ''misinformation'' campaign targeting elderly Cuban voters kept the balloting close.

''In my conversations with voters there was a lot of confusion,'' he said. 'They were saying, `I cannot allow people of the same sex to get married.' And I told them the [ordinance] wouldn't do this. I believe a lot of the scare tactics worked.''

National gay rights groups celebrated the Miami-Dade vote.

They said the win, however narrow, will serve as a deterrent to other anti-gay ballot efforts nationwide.

Rick Garcia, director of Chicago-based Equity Illinois, said SAVE Dade combined with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) to assemble a formidable political machine.

''It wasn't just press releases and rhetoric,'' Garcia said. ``It was doing the real political work. And I think the referendum demonstrates the maturation of the gay community in understanding the political process.''

NGLTF executive director Lorri L. Jean said she thinks the Miami-Dade referendum could mark a turning point in the struggle for gay and lesbian rights.

''I'm serving notice on the extremists who attack us that wherever they try to to enshrine discrimination against us in the law, we're going to fight them,'' Jean said. ``If we can win in Miami, we can win anywhere.''

Herald database editor Jason Grotto contributed to this report.