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Letter sent to the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners June 11th. - 11/22/2020

Letter sent to the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners June 11th.

Letter approved by steering committee to send to Okaloosa Board of commissioners.

"We are reaching out to you, our Board of County Commissioners, in hope of working in collaboration with you to improve the fair housing protections currently on the books in Okaloosa County.

The particular ordinance “Okaloosa County Housing Ordinance 91-04” as currently written does not include protections for sexual orientation. We propose additions to provide fair housing protections to the LGBTQ+ community of Okaloosa County.

According to the NGLCC, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, many big businesses will avoid bringing their commerce to areas that don’t have LGBTQ+ rights and protections. Additionally, GDP numbers are increasing in cities that provide additional sexual orientation protections through their local ordinances.

Our local annual June Pride Walk has been cancelled due to the risk of the COVID-19 outbreak and the safety of our community and medical workers must come first. As so many lives have been disrupted by the pandemic and worries of civil unrest, we would like to bring a little good news to the community. The passage of a fair housing ordinance to include protection for sexual orientation will be good news for the LGBTQ+ community and the businesses of Okaloosa County.

We respectfully ask you bring this request before the Board at your next meeting on June 16th. In addition, we would be honored if you wished a Happy Pride Month to the LGBTQ community of Okaloosa County, especially for those serving locally in the Armed Forces.

Brandon Jordan
Vice President Okaloosa Democratic LGBTQ+ Caucus