Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 12-4-15 Edition

Local
Old West Tampa Neighborhood Association To Elect New Officers
Equality Florida Says ‘No’ To Proposed Amendment For LGBT Protections
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
On Tuesday, strange bed- fellows found themselves agreeing with each other against a proposed charter amendment for LGBT (les- bian, gay, bi-sexual, transgen- der) protections.
Representatives from Equality Florida found them- selves aligned with religious conservatives to convince the Hillsborough County Charter Review Board to not move for- ward with a charter amend- ment that would strengthen protections for gays and les- bians.
The Board voted 11-1 against a charter amendment that would have barred dis- crimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Charter Review Board member, Gerald White, had the dissenting vote, and said as of October, there already was an ordinance in place.
“Apparently, the LGBT community didn’t want to get into a dispute with the reli- gious sector and didn’t want to inject more politics into an issue that’s already been
GERALD WHITE
bounced back-and-forth.
“I wanted the issue on the 2016 ballot because it was about protection against dis- crimination. I stood on the platform of civil rights and I’m just against any type of dis-
crimination.”
White said many from the
religious community have al- ready taken a stand against gay rights.
Mike Reedy of Equality Florida said, they just don’t think civil rights and basic rights should be put up for a vote.
“We don’t want to see a majority talk about the rights of a minority using false
MIKE REEDY
truths, scare tactics and what- ever else they can come up with to make the population believe the LGBT community is one that is out to get your wives and your daughters. That’s just not true in any form.
“We are prepared to con- tinue to fight for laws that pro- tect our community. In Hillsborough County, laws are already in place. We need to work to get the state to do their part.”
Reedy said he feels their alliances with elected officials and other groups will stay the same, and they will continue to solicit their support.
At 6:30 p. m., December 8th at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center, 2200 North Oregon Avenue, the Old West Tampa Neighborhood Associa- tion group will be electing new officers.
For more than a decade, Mike Vannetta has served as President of the West Tampa as- sociation. He announced months ago that he was stepping down and will spend more time grow- ing his awning business.
With the CRA coming to West Tampa along with a big re- development plan involving pub- lic housing and the surrounding community, Vannetta felt it was time to hand over the reigns as president to someone else in the community.
MIKE VANNETTA
It is vital that residents of West Tampa attend this meeting to help decide who will be repre- senting their community on the Citizens Advisory Committee, and in meetings with officials about the future of West Tampa.
Tampa Bay New Black Panther Party Hosts
Holiday Food Drive
James Watkins, husband of murder victim Sharon Watkins, gets his holiday box. (Food Box Four)
The Tampa Bay Chapter of the New Black Panther Party, under the leadership of Local Chairman Ali Muhammad and Local Chief of Staff, Im- perial X, have been busy in October on the forefront of many community issues and speaking at home going serv- ices.
Ali Muhammad and Im- perial X began thinking about how we have forgotten about our senior citizens, and ht it would be a joy to provide them with a holiday on behalf of the Panther Party where members came together and presented 8 holiday boxes on November
21st.
The Central Committee Members delivered boxes to seniors in the city and public housing complexes, such as The Reed at Encore, Ella at En- core, North Boulevard Homes, the J.L. Young Hi-Rise, and in Sulphur Springs. “It was a blessing o be a blessing to our seniors,” said Ali Muham- mad.
“We were greeted with much love and thanks for our generosity. It was a pleasure to give them our love and thank them for their countless years of generosity to our commu- nity.”
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 11-A