So it can't be used in court to undo or limit civil rights laws, human rights ordinances, or judicial interpretations of constitutional rights.
And yet, the group she represents, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has been notably silent on the many initiatives for LGBT rights, from marriage equality nationally to civil rights protections for LGBT people in local human rights ordinances.
Duncan said that Equality Florida, which is involved with human rights ordinances such as the same-sex marriage bill in Florida, would frequently use Pulse as a venue for its events and mixers and that Barbara Poma was actively involved in supporting the community.
"In the United States, most civil rights laws apply to companies with 15 or more employees, and some local human rights ordinances apply to organizations with less than 15 employees," says Rita Barreto Craig, president of The Craig Group, a Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based HR consulting firm.
"If a locality chooses to act outside of its authority in any manner, it runs the risk of having a court strike the underlying ordinance". Alexandria amended its human rights ordinance to include language protecting gays and lesbians in 1988 but now has little authority to provide a legal remedy aside from a $5,000 fine, according to Jean Niebauer in the city's human rights office.
When I led the fight to pass Indy's inclusive human rights ordinance in 2005, it was an uphill battle; the ordinance had already failed previously that year and the local media didn't give much help in building support for the law.
Arlington has had a provision in its human rights ordinance protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination since 1992.
As the editorial notes, such protections have existed in the capital, Indianapolis, since it passed a human rights ordinance in December 2005.
Together, they canvassed voters in conservative neighborhoods in Miami six months after the Miami-Dade Counto Commincludevotransgenderude transgender people in the county's human rights ordinance.
