ORLANDO: Bedlam At Town Hall Meeting As GOP Rep Defends Medicare Cuts

FLORIDA: Orange County Commission Approves Domestic Partners Benefits

Orange County, Florida commissioners have unanimously approved extending benefits to the partners of gay county employees. Via Watermark:

In their pre-vote comments, many commissioners took the time to recognize Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, who led the effort in 2008 to extend benefits to same sex domestic partners of city employees, and former Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart, who crusaded on behalf of same sex partners of county employees. Sheehan and Stewart were the first to speak in favor of the benefits. “It’s not the same as marriage, but it makes things a little more fair,” Sheehan said.

It's nice to be able to report good news from home.

RELATED: In November, Orange County instituted broad LGBT protections in public accommodations, housing, and employment.

Morning View - Bird Thing

Whatever this bird thing is, it's freekin' 7AM so shut up shut up SHUT UP.

Morning View - Freeze Damage

Last weekend's freeze has left Orlando littered with dead tropicals like this banana tree in my mom's back yard.

Afternoon View - Orlando Main Library

Like many Brutalist buildings, Orlando's Main Public Library looks like a prison. Unfortunately my alma mater, UCF, also features a major example of ugly Brutalism.

Afternoon View - Lake Eola

The fountain in downtown Orlando's Lake Eola is sort of the city's symbol and its silhouette is found on many of the town's non-Disney souvenirs. Obvs, I'm now in Orlando.

Afternoon View - Fort Lauderdale Beach

I'm in Florida for the next two weeks and tomorrow Father Tony and I will spin his tiny convertible down the Overseas Highway for a week of poolside blogging at Key West's fabulous Island House. There will be a JMG reader meet-up in Fort Lauderdale upon our return (details to follow) and then I'm off to spend Xmas in Orlando with the bio-fam. Postings will be relatively light tomorrow and may be heavily influenced by frozen cocktails thereafter.

FLORIDA: Orange County Commission Approves Broad LGBT Protections

By a 6-1 vote, yesterday the commissioners of Orange County, Florida banned sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Equality Florida reports that red-shirted supporters of the measures filled the commission's chambers prior to the vote. Congratulations to my home county!

New From Craigery Morgan

Original material this time!

New From Craigery Morgan

The lip-syncing muscled hottie is back. He's a student at UCF, my alma mater!

ORLANDO: Gay Man Assaulted By Gang Of Nine Teenagers, Cops Call It Hate Crime

Orlando police are investigating the assault and beating of a man who was attacked by a gang of nine teenagers after they demanded to know if he is gay.

A brutal beating involving nine teenagers on Monday will be considered a hate crime, authorities with the Orange County Sheriff's Office said. A-20-year-old man told deputies he was walking in the area of Long and Barbara roads when he was approached by the group. The victim told investigators he was asked whether he was gay before the attack. "One asked if I was gay, and I said, 'What if I am?'" the unidentified victim said. The victim, who said he is bisexual, didn't want to use his name because he is scared of the people who attacked him. "The next thing I know, I felt somebody hit me from behind, and then they punched me," the victim said.

The victim, who suffered light injuries, says he plans to move because the gang knows where he lives.

Parliament House In Foreclosure

Orlando's Parliament House, my first ever gay bar (back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth) is facing foreclosure and heading into receivership.

Houston-based Southwest Guaranty Ltd. and Compass Bank of Alabama initiated foreclosure actions against the property on North Orange Blossom Trail in July over a $7.5 million mortgage that matured at the end of 2009. Attorneys for the creditors said Monday they expect it will taken over this week by a court-appointed receiver, which would continue the club's operations under court orders. Entrepreneur Donald Granastein and his wife purchased it in 1999 and have operated it since then. The couple have been credited with renovating and reinvigorating the somewhat-faded landmark on the western edge of downtown. Granastein said Monday he didn't have the money to repay the note when it came due. He added that he holds the liquor license and expects to continue operating it, even under a receiver. "Am I happy with this? That's a big no," he said. "But I'm stuck with whatever happens, and we will be open 100 percent."

The Parliament House is inarguably the most famous gay business in the entire south and has been for three decades. I really cannot imagine an Orlando without it. I hope it survives somehow.

Orlando Sentinel Calls On Bill McCollum To Drop Gay Adoption Appeal

In a blistering editorial attacking Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum over the Rekers scandal, the Orlando Sentinel has called on McCollum to drop his appeal of the decision to allow gay adoptions as "atonement" for hiring Rekers.

The judge in the Florida case, Cindy Lederman, wound up declaring the state's gay adoption ban unconstitutional. In her ruling, Ms. Lederman wrote that Mr. Rekers' testimony was neither "credible nor worthy of forming the basis for public policy." Yet the attorney general's office appealed the ruling. Incredible. Since the revelations about Mr. Rekers, Mr. McCollum has been on the defensive about hiring him. "There wasn't a whole lot of choice," he said. The dearth of credible experts to defend the ban should have told the attorney general something. Reputable studies have shown parents' quality, not their sexual orientation, is what counts. No wonder Florida is almost alone in barring gay adoption. Mr. McCollum can atone for his mistake by dropping the appeal, and clearing the way for Florida to abandon this archaic law.

Photo Of The Day - Discovery Over Disney

From his vantage point near Disney World's Cinderella's Castle, photographer Kent Phillips captured the space shuttle Discovery on its way to the International Space Station this morning. Big better version here.