The vote followed three months of testimony and debate about whether discrimination exists in Jacksonville against gays and lesbians -- and if so, whether legislation is the appropriate response. Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida and the 11th largest city in the nation, joins Houston, Phoenix and San Antonio as other cities listed in the nation's 11 most populated cities without similar ordinances.

A substitute bill purporting to exempt churches and religious institutions was narrowly defeated in a 10-9 vote and the original bill (2012-296) was soundly defeated 17-2. The original bill would have added protections for "gender identity" and " expression."

A standing-room only crowd of more than 600 opponents and supporters flooded city council chambers in City Hall and into an overflow room where some opponents wore blue "Protect First Liberties" stickers and most supporters wore red "Yes! 296" stickers.

Erupting in applause following the votes, opponents sobered quickly when some supporters stood up and yelled, "Throw them out!" -- before they stormed out of the auditorium under the watchful eyes of nearly 30 police officers at the back of the room.

More than two-thirds of those who had contacted city council opposed the legislation, Councilmen Clay Yarborough told the Witness in a July interview. Overall, council members fielded about 10,000 emails, hundreds of phone calls and visits, and heard hours of testimony before the meeting.

Yarborough told the council "no substantial evidence has been provided" that the bill is needed in Jacksonville, and pointed out that even the bill's supporters were divided on the substitute measure which passed muster by two of three council committees and was proposed by the sponsor of the original bill.

Councilman Warren Jones in June offered an amendment to the bill that he said would strike "gender and identity and expression," clarify that churches are exempt, and exempt businesses with 15 or fewer employees. In addition, Jones said the bill would send those with complaints to the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission.

Prior to the Aug. 15 meeting, eight council members had voted for the bill in committee or said they would support it, while three of 19 council members were still said to be undecided. In the end, however, one council member who had previously supported the substitute measure, Councilman Johnny Gaffney, voted against it. With Gaffney's switch, even though previously undecided council members supported it and one opposed it, the bill failed.

John Stemberger, president of Florida Family Policy Council, applauded the bill's defeat.

"This is an extraordinary victory for the people of Jacksonville who rose up and made it clear they were not going to allow some secret council of elite powerbrokers or activists from outside Jacksonville to force extreme policies upon them," Stemberger said in a statement. "I believe we are seeing the tables start to turn on 'gay rights' issues when Americans see how really extreme these left-wing activists are. These are not just people who have a same sex attraction and want to be left alone to freely define themselves. This is a radical group of political operatives who want to force their aberrant views on human sexuality upon the rest of society by the mandate and penalty of law."

Stemberger, who testified before city council at the request of some Jacksonville residents and church leaders, noted "the Chick-fil-A backlash, the recent outing of the new 'pan-gendered' legislator in Texas, the plummeting of J.C. Penney stocks after they started displaying ads with openly gay men on Father's day, Home Depot parading explicit sexual conduct in front of children, and now the major defeat of 296 in Florida's largest and most progressive city" should all send a message that people are aware of a larger movement.

"I believe people are waking up to the truth that this is not about discrimination or fairness but about an intolerance and utter disrespect for the rights of others, namely Christians and those who believe in traditional family values," Stemberger said.

Joey Vaughn, a local attorney and member of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, told to the Florida Baptist Witness after the meeting, "Have people in the homosexual community been treated unfairly? Absolutely."

Still, Vaughn said, the "ultimate vote" of the council demonstrated the proposed ordinance was not needed because the bill never was about anti-discrimination or protection, he said. Instead, Vaughn said an "activist group was seeking to force the government-mandated affirmation of a behavior." Continued...