Gay Anti-Discrimination: Good News From Gainesville

Gainesville, Florida, upon first glance, wouldn't be one of the cities at the top of my list known for much tolerance of LGBT issues. But, I'm happy that over half of the Gainesville residents who participated in the March 24th vote to maintain current anti-discrimination protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents just proved me wrong.

Almost 60% of the voters gave a thumbs down to a measure that would have stripped away an anti-discrimination ordinance, which also includes protections for transgender residents to use a male or female public restroom of their choice. Most importantly, the ordinance protects the city's LGBT community against job and housing discrimination.

Surrounded by notoriously conservative northern Florida, should Gainesville now be considered a "gay-friendly" city — or was it simply the high turn out of liberal-minded University of Florida students who were responsible for swinging the vote more toward equality?