Florida

SEBASTIAN, Fla. — New details emerged Monday in the arrest of an 18-year-old Florida high school senior accused of "lewd and lascivious behavior" with her 14-year-old girlfriend, after the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department released a copy of the arrest affidavit. [ Read more → ]

SEBASTIAN, Fla. -- A Florida high school senior is facing two years of house arrest, probation and a lifetime as a registered sex offender after engaging in a same-sex relationship with another student. [ Read more → ]

OCALA, Fla. -- Just one day after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against a Florida school district for denying students from forming a gay-straight alliance, the school board ended months of delays and said it will allow the club. [ Read more → ]

OCALA, Fla. — The American Civil Liberties Union said it is suing one Florida school district for denying students to form a gay-straight alliance, while another district relents and now says it will allow a similar club at a nearby high school. [ Read more → ]

LEESBURG, Fla. -- Efforts to establish a gay-straight student alliance at a Florida middle school failed after school board members voted Monday night to table discussions about proposed rules for the club. [ Read more → ]

KATHLEEN, Fla. — The American Civil Liberties Union says it will represent two students who have been unable to obtain permission to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at Kathleen High School in Polk County, Fla.. [ Read more → ]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida state Senate panel on Monday passed the "Families First bill," a measure that would provide limited legal protections for same-sex unmarried partners by creating a statewide domestic partnership registry. [ Read more → ]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida appeals court ruled Monday that posting threats on one's personal Facebook page can be prosecuted under state law. [ Read more → ]

An openly lesbian Florida teen has filed a lawsuit against her high school for being punished for participating in last year's "Day of Silence," an annual anti-bullying observance in support of LGBT students. [ Read more → ]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The sponsor of a Florida domestic partnership bill says she'll rework it after the measure ran into opposition from her own committee. [ Read more → ]

More than 100 parents, students and local residents packed a Lake County, Fla., school board meeting on Monday to voice their opinion on a possible ban on extracurricular clubs after a student applied to form a gay-straight alliance club. [ Read more → ]

President Barack Obama has announced his support for bringing the 2018 Gay Games to Orlando, Fla. In a letter to the organizing committee, Obama called Orlando a "vibrant tourism industry" ideal for the games. [ Read more → ]

MIAMI — Three people — a gay man and two lesbians — are all named as parents on a 23-month-old girl's birth certificate in South Florida. [ Read more → ]

TAVARES, Fla. -- The Lake County School Board is considering eliminating all non-academic clubs from middle and high school campuses instead of allowing a student to form a gay-straight alliance. [ Read more → ]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Florida lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow Floridians to enter "domestic partnerships." State Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Fort Lauderdale) introduced the “Families First” bill (SB 196), which would extend legal protections to same-sex couples, including hospital visitation rights and the... [ Read more → ]

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Boca Raton City Council has appointed an openly gay teen to the city’s community relations board after he urged the council to update its 46-year-old anti-discrimination policy for city employees. [ Read more → ]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Newly elected Florida State Representatives David Richardson (D-Miami Beach) and Joe Saunders (D-Orlando) took their oaths of office Tuesday, becoming the first openly gay state lawmakers elected to the Florida state legislature. [ Read more → ]

KEY WEST, Fla. -- Police in this island resort city are labeling the beating of two men on November 10 an anti-gay hate crime and designated the investigation the department's top priority. [ Read more → ]

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- A Florida high school teacher has filed a complaint against the Deerfield Beach, Fla., school district over its handling of an investigation after a parent alleged that she had a hand in turning a student into a lesbian. [ Read more → ]

Joe Saunders is expected to win his race for the Florida House of Representatives tonight, joining David Richardson, who won a decisive primary for another State House seat in August. [ Read more → ]