The Families First Bill, a proposed statewide domestic partner registry, is once again temporarily postponed.
A vote on the bill was scheduled for March 12, but several members of the Florida Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs were unable to attend the meeting, including key supporter Sen. Geralidine Thompson (D-Orange County).
Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood), who first filed the bill in January and then refiled it for the March vote, announced that the schedule vote would not take place.
“I’m going to TP that bill for today,” Sobel said. “I apologize to all of you for any kind of inconvenience.”
Among those scheduled to testify ahead of the vote were activist Janice Langbehn, who made headlines when she was prevented from visiting her dying partner at a Miami hospital in 2007 and Orlando Weekly writer Billy Manes.
On Feb. 19, the committee rejected the bill despite strong support from speakers in favor of the registry. Several of the Senators who indicated that they would not move the bill forward said it was because the bill was not specific enough in the rights it would provide domestic partners.
No word yet on when a new vote may be scheduled – keep checking WatermarkOnline.com for updates as they become available.
