Today, the city of Orlando is known as a national leader in LGBTQ diversity and inclusion. This distinction has been a direct result of the intentional work of Mayor Buddy Dyer and his diverse leadership team at The City Beautiful.
Prior to the Supreme Court ruling granting same-sex marriage rights in the United States, Orlando was one of the first cities in Florida to pass a Domestic Partner Registry providing rights and protections for unmarried couples. This was quickly followed by the passage of Orlando’s Human Rights Ordinance protecting people against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.I met Mayor Dyer at Come Out With Pride in 2011. Our initial meeting being somewhat stilted as I realized I was perhaps the first openly transgender person to shake hands with our mayor. Over the years, however, a warm relationship has grown and the mayor’s support for the transgender community has grown with it. Mayor Dyer has personally supported many transgender events including a Transgender Allies Workshop, a Transgender Town Hall and a Corporate Transgender Inclusion City Workshop.
Recently, the city announced the construction of an “All User” restroom at City Hall directly outside the City Hall Chambers. This “All User” multi-stall restroom is designed to be available to the diverse gender identities that make up the Orlando community—male, female, transgender and gender nonconforming citizens are all welcome to use this restroom at the same time. This is the first “All User” restroom in any government space in the state of Florida.
Orlando is truly a city that welcomes diversity because it is led by a mayor who lives it.
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