Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/109601
Sarasota News Leader February 15, 2013 Page 35 very specific and very narrow in scope,��� Shelin said Monday evening. He warned that inequality ���will continue if you don���t take action,��� and pointed out that more than 100 couples have already registered for the benefits in Sarasota. ���I support Domestic Registry 100 percent,��� she writes in an email. She declined to take action Monday because of the ongoing absence of Commissioner Tom Jones, who was hospitalized last month. Carlson called the registry ���a really positive and progressive ideal for any community,��� and urged North Port to support the measure. Several North Port residents dressed in red shirts and attended the meeting to show their support, and a handful spoke out in favor of the registry. ���I did not make a motion since I suspected it would meet with a 2-2 vote which would be a no vote,��� she writes. ���I will wait for a fifth vote which may allow for a chance in favor for it to succeed.��� Shelin agrees that the registry is not dead in North Port; it is just ���pending.��� He tells the The only vocal opposition came from North News Leader he thinks he can win a majority Port citizen Thomas Logie, who called the regvote when Jones returns. When that will hapistry a ���Trojan horse��� and said it was ���rife with pen, though, remains unclear. legal complications for the city.��� In the meantime, Shelin is not resting on his He tells The Sarasota News Leader he believes the registry contradicts the anti-gay laurels. This week, he made a formal request marriage amendment approved by Florida to appear again before the Sarasota County voters in 2008. ���I think the City Commission Commission in March, hoping to force a vote or the County Commission would be perfectly on the issue with that governing body. prudent to let this pass over for the time be- And he will be traveling to Tallahassee earing,��� he says. ly next week to testify in the Florida Senate That indeed is what the City Commission did in support of a statewide registry program. He is not optimistic the bill in question will Monday night, at least on the surface. pass. Similar measures have failed repeatedly After Shelin and Carlson���s presentation and in recent years, both because of the Florida the public comments, commissioners had Legislature���s ultra-conservative makeup and very little to say about the registry. Commisbecause the state law is much more expansive sioner Cheryl Cook asked to be provided with than the more narrowly tailored local rules. some additional data, while Mayor Linda Yates merely said the item would be taken ���under He would love to see the state version become a reality, but as he told the North Port Comconsideration,��� before moving on. mission Monday, ���We clearly have not reached But that does not mean the issue is going that tipping point yet.��� away. Commissioner Rhonda DiFranco tells the News Leader she thought the presentation For now, that means it is up to cities and counties. % ���was fabulous, as I expected.���