Miami Beach Mayor Stands up for Equality

The first ever State of the Community Luncheon was more than just a song and dance - it produced tangible results for the gay community with Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera-Bower announcing her support for same-sex marriage.

The mayors attending the luncheon represented the largest communities in Miami-Dade. They were Carlos Gimenez of Miami-Dade County, Tom�s Regalado of Miami, Jim Cason of Coral Gables, and Herrera-Bower. In his prepared notes, Gimenez said that the LGBT community is important for the county and its business, and needs to be treated accordingly.

"We are more tolerant, more open-minded, and more accepting of one another's differences," he said. "But we're not where we need to be yet."

The attendance was sold out - 170 people filling up the hall at the downtown Miami Hilton on Feb. 9. They listened to the four mayors give ten-minute speeches about "their goals for 2012 and the importance of the LGBTQ community," said Steve Adkins, CEO of the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the event.

Adkins said he felt that the mayors were sincere in their speeches.

"They really do rely on the LGBT business community and its leadership to help them move their political agenda forward," he said.

And then Richard Milstein, a local attorney, put them all on the spot during the open forum segment that followed their speeches.

"He brought up the mayors' initiative supporting marriage equality," Adkins said. The initiative is the Mayors for the Freedom to Marry statement, a bipartisan effort to get mayoral support for same-sex marriage. More than 80 mayors from around the country have already signed it, six of whom are from Florida including Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis, Craig Cates from Key West, Joy Cooper from Hallandale Beach, Craig Lowe from Gainesville, Lori Moseley from Miramar, and Jeri Muoio from West Palm Beach. The statement is part of Freedom to Marry. It launched in January at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Winter Meeting.

"Richard [Milstein] highlighted the fact that no Miami-Dade mayors had signed on to support marriage equality." Then Milstein produced the petition and asked the mayors to sign it.

In a surprising move Herrera-Bower signed it in front of the crowd. She received a standing ovation.

"We're hopeful that at least the county mayor will sign on," said Adkins, who explained that he understands most mayors will want to get their legal teams to review the letter before signing.

Calling the event "seamless" and "exceptional" Adkins said he's already excited about next year's event, and so are the attendees.

"We felt that it was important from a business perspective, " he said. "We would bring as many mayors as we could, where they could express themselves on matters that are important for the LGBT community and open an arena of discourse."

Guest speakers included CJ Ortuno, executive director of SAVE Dade and Stratton Pollitzer, the deputy director for Equality Florida.