A new report shows that the majority of Floridians support marriage equality.
According to the report—“A Shifting Landscape: A Decade of Change in American Attitudes about Same-Sex Marriage and LGBT Issues” from the Public Religion Research Institute — 57 percent of Florida residents think same-sex marriage should be legalized.
The report also says that about 53 percent of Americans support gay marriage, up from 32 percent in 2003.
Equality Florida CEO Nadine Smith pointed out regional differences among acceptance of marriage equality, and said Florida is the most accepting of the Southern states.
“Florida stands out as an exception among Southern states with nearly 6-in-10 Floridians expressing support for same-sex marriage,” she said.
Read the complete report here.
More LGBT news
• A day after Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a controversial religious-protection bill deemed anti-gay, Mississippi leaders decided to review similar, pending legislation, which passed in the Senate 48-0 on Jan. 31.
Mississippi’s Senate Bill 2681 has received attention because it requires the insertion of “In God We Trust” into the state seal. But a House subcommittee took a closer look at the proposed law and concluded that it would allow businesses and government entities to discriminate against the LGBT population based on religious grounds.
The subcommittee removed discriminatory aspects of the bill, which will be considered by the House Judiciary Committee B on Thursday.
And a similar religious-freedom bill in Georgia, previously scheduled for a Senate committee vote next Monday, has been taken off the calendar.
• Paula Deen has put her foot in her mouth again.
The celebrity chef’s career imploded last year after she admitted to previously using a racial slur. Now, she’s trying to rebuild her food empire and compares her struggles to repair her damaged reputation to those of college football player Michael Sam, a star athlete likely to be drafted by the NFL who recently came out as gay.
In an interview with People magazine, Deen said:
I feel like ‘embattled’ or ‘disgraced’ will always follow my name. It’s like that black football player who recently came out. He said, ‘I just want to be known as a football player. I don’t want to be known as a gay football player.’ I know exactly what he’s saying.