The yellow brick road to victory

As a somewhat typical gay man, I can find parallels to The Wizard of Oz in almost any situation. Such was the case when I joined many of South Florida’s most prominent activists in the chambers of the Miami-Dade County Commission to witness the May 20 passage of a domestic partnership ordinance by an 8-to-4 vote.

Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz did not arrive on a broomstick, but he was clearly the villain of the day. He pushed to defer the vote until the commission could consider a broader proposal that would extend healthcare coverage to a greater number of family members. Although it was obvious that much more research was needed on the feasibility of this proposal, Diaz asserted that passage of the domestic partnership ordinance would be divisive to the community and amount to discrimination against families.

We were very hopeful that a majority of the other commissioners would show their brains, their hearts and their courage to make Miami-Dade County a better home for their LGBT constituents. We were not disappointed.

Commissioner Sally Heyman was among those who were smart enough to note that domestic partner benefits were long overdue in the county and that there was no valid reason to withhold them any longer. Our opponents tried to use the “have a heart argument,” begging their colleagues to show compassion for families by voting against the ordinance.

Commissioner Katy Sorenson, a good witch if ever there was one, rebuffed this ridiculous idea, saying: “[Passage of the ordinance is] a matter of compassion, a matter of correcting an injustice, a matter of moving forward as a progressive county.” Commission Chairman Bruno Barreiro demonstrated great courage by rejecting appeals to use his power to defer the vote.

“I support this as a proud Republican,” he declared.

As the conversation dragged on and it became evident that the ordinance would pass, Diaz truly did seem to be channeling the Wicked Witch of the West after she was doused with water — his arguments against the ordinance flailed wildly from poor timing to reverse discrimination to cost concerns. As it became obvious that he would not prevail, his voice bordered on screeching.

Throughout the long battle for countywide domestic partner recognition, Heddy Pena and the good folks at SAVE Dade have been mobilizing hundreds of constituents to engage with and convince commissioners to pass the ordinance. The local community will be forever grateful for their efforts.

We are all jubilant at our success, but we really can’t afford to celebrate. We have to wage a much greater battle to defeat the statewide anti-LGBT ballot initiative this November or the rights we achieved on May 20 will melt away.

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