What is Charter Amendment 1?
Charter Amendment 1 is a proposed amendment to the Gainesville City Charter that will appear on the ballot for the March 24, 2009 City election. The proposed amendment is the result of a citizen petition initiative by a far-right group who seeks to take away the City Commission’s ability to enact and enforce Gainesville local nondiscrimination laws. What will people see on the ballot? On March 24th, the City of Gainesville’s municipal ballot will read: Amendment to City Charter Prohibiting the City from Providing Certain Civil Rights. SHALL THE CITY CHARTER BE AMENDED TO PROHIBIT THE ADOPTION OR ENFORCEMENT OF ORDINANCES, REGULATIONS, RULES OR POLICIES THAT PROVIDE PROTECTED STATUS, PREFERENCES OR DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS BASED ON CLASSIFICATIONS, CHARACTERISTICS OR ORIENTATIONS NOT RECOGNIZED BY THE FLORIDA CIVIL RIGHTS ACT? THE ACT RECOGNIZES RACE, COLOR, CREED, RELIGION, GENDER, NATIONAL ORIGIN, AGE, HANDICAP, MARITAL AND FAMILIAL STATUS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS AMENDMENT VOIDS EXISTING ORD
