Miami Herald (MH) - Friday August 23, 1991
Steve Bousquet; Herald Staff Writer

The Dolphin Democratic Club on Thursday sent letters to Broward legislators, asking them to support a bill in their 1992 session to schedule a vote in the fall of next year. Several Democratic legislators reached Thursday said they likely would honor the request, but want new information on the need for it.

"To me, it's a human rights issue," said Rep. Ben Graber, D-Coral Springs, the incoming chairman of the legislative delegation. "But I think we need a good, solid analysis to see if this would help or hurt. Two solid defeats -- that could really set you back."

By a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent, Broward voters last Sept. 4 rejected a proposal to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment and use of public facilities.

Supporters now say they lost partly because they let the other side control the debate. Opponents, led by a political action committee, People's Voice, used billboards and radio spots to warn that AIDS cases would mount and Broward would become a "gay mecca" if the referendum passed.

"We understand that this is a long-term battle, and that it may require several elections before we are successful," said the letter signed by Tom Bradshaw, president of the Dolphin club. "We are prepared to make this request as many times as necessary until our objective is achieved."

The Broward County Human Rights Act already bans discrimination in nine categories such as age, race, sex, marital status and handicap. But the act, a state law, can be changed only by the Legislature and Broward voters, lawyers have said.

Jim Pollard, a Broward landscaper who headed People's Voice, said he was surprised gay activists want another referendum so soon. Pollard called the amendment "unnecessary legislation" and said his group "could be reactivated real easily."

Another opponent of the amendment, Maurice Baum, said: "I'm sure it'll go on the ballot, because we've got a bunch of wishy-washy legislators."

Bradshaw said his club sent the letters because another group already planned to begin a new referendum campaign on its own. That group, known for its aggressive political stance, is GUARD: Gays United to Attack Repression and Discrimination.

"You just cannot sit back and wait for people to hand you your rights. You must work for them," said Dennis Delia, GUARD's acting president.

In recent months, GUARD members have picketed Sheriff Nick Navarro to protest raids at gay clubs, appealed to Miramar commissioners who canceled a play with a gay theme, and picketed a Democratic club for honoring Hamilton Forman, a prominent political leader who opposed the 1990 referendum.

Since March, the Broward County Human Relations Division has kept records of complaints from people claiming they were discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. Division Chief Gloria Battle said 12 complaints are on file, four from people who said they carry the HIV virus believed to cause AIDS. But because the referendum failed, Battle said, her agency has no power to act on the complaints.
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