Knowing our rights is essential to our democracy.  PFLAG Gainesville Florida stays up to date and informs our supporters on the status of legal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.  

We are not attorneys and do not provide legal advice.  

Please read below about state and national Laws as well as National laws in place to protect you and your loved ones.

PFLAG Gainesville is working with other local organizations and the local school district to ensure that LGBTQ+ youth are safe, included,  supported, and successful in school.

Learn about the coalition PFLAG Gainesville formed to work with the Alachua County Public Schools.

It is the policy of the Board to maintain an educational and work environment which is free from all forms of unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment. This commitment applies to all District operations, programs, and activities. All students, administrators, teachers, staff, and all other school personnel share responsibility for avoiding, discouraging, and reporting any form of unlawful harassment. This policy applies to unlawful conduct occurring on school property, or at another location if such conduct occurs during an activity sponsored by the Board.

The Superintendent will enforce its prohibition against discriminatory harassment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, transgender status, or gender identity), physical and mental disability (including but not limited to: HIV, AIDS, or sickle cell trait), use of a language other than English by Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students, pregnancy, marital status, age (except as authorized by law), religion, military status, ancestry, or genetic information which are classes protected by State and/or Federal law (collectively, “protected classes”) (hereinafter referred to as unlawful harassment), and encourages those within the School District community as well as third parties, who feel aggrieved to seek assistance to rectify such problems. The Superintendent will investigate all allegations of unlawful harassment and, in those cases where legally prohibited harassment is substantiated, the Superintendent will take immediate steps to end the harassment. Individuals who are found to have engaged in unlawful harassment will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.

PFLAG Gainesville meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida (3850 NW 83st - Suite 201 - Upstairs - Elevator Available) at 7:00PM.

Meetings are informal with an opportunity to talk, have refreshments and view our resource library. Join us to receive support and to provide support. See old friends and make new ones.

We ask that you wear a mask because of the rising covid numbers. Everyone is welcome.  

Our next meeting is September 19,  7:00pm. 

We look forward to seeing you then.

When it comes to faith communities, it isn’t about redefining what you or your community believe.  It’s about changing the way we treat each other.  It is about creating a place where all people who are about equality can honestly and openly discuss and remove barriers they face to becoming an ally, get specific recommendations for action, and learn how to assist others — whether friends, family members, coworkers or community members — in becoming agents of change, on their own terms.

In some traditions, the message is incredibly positive.  For example, most of the movements in Judaism teach love and acceptance, inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, and there is no conflict between LGBTQ+ or an ally and being consistent with Jewish beliefs.  In fact, there are many LGBTQ+ rabbis and minsters serving throughout the world, in congregations that allow them to be out, but also celebrate their authenticity.

In other traditions — and unfortunately in some of the largest faith communities — the message isn’t as positive.  Teachings range from trying not to talk about it, to separating the person and who they are (love the sinner but hate the sin), to outright rejection of LGBTQ+ people and those who support them.  

For others, this quickly becomes an either/or decision: “Either I accept what my religion teaches me and act accordingly or I will not be living in grace.” To others it just means trying not to think about it….which tends to be pretty difficult given the big space that faith occupies in our lives.

When a person finds him or herself in a place where their religious teachings and beliefs are being questioned, it can literally shake their whole world.  That’s because no matter what tradition we embrace, there is comfort in the order that faith give us.  We know what is right and wrong, and our religion gives us guidelines for how to make the call.

Because the discussion about looking at LGBTQ+ people and the way different faith traditions treat them is often presented in an all-of-nothing kind of way.  Either you accept LGBTQ+ people complete, or your reject them outright.  Either you consider them to be wrong, or you grab your rainbow flag and celebrate them in your congregation.  Either you think that marriage equality is the right thing to do or you think it will change what some believe is a sacred institution

Leap of Faith

For most of us, just thinking about LGBTQ+ people in our faith communities outside of their either/or options — and even saying the words “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning — is a tremendous step.  It signifies the proverbial leap of faith that usually leads to thinking about the issue in a different way, thinking about our relationship with our faith in a changed way, and maybe even seeing people around us in a new light.

We can’t lie.  This process can be tough.  Figuring out how to resolve some of the disconnect between what we believe and our experiences isn’t easy.  But it can be done.  In fact, lot of allies in faith communities have done it — and are doing it right now.  So we’re going to try to find a quiet spot in our heads and minds where the issues are set aside and people are the focus.  Hopefully, with that, the sense of panic can be minimized and a real journey can begin.  Just remember:   It’s about PEOPLE not issues.

Beginning

As more LGBTQ+ people live their lives out of the closet, the chance that you know someone (or more) of them increases.  Polling tells us that 8 in 10 people say that they personally know someone who is LGBTQ+.  And, in PFLAG’s experience, the other two in 10 just don’t realize that they know someone…yet.

At the same time, 92% of people in this country say they believe in God or a higher power with 58% of them identifying as religious, saying that they pray at least once a week.  

When you put this all together, we learn two things:  First, a lot of people personally know LGBTQ+ people.  Second, lots of people identify as people of faith.  So there are a lot of people who are personally connected to the tension that often settles between the two topics.

Change is happening and faith communities are taking on the issue in a wide variety of ways, from resistance, to silence, to acceptance.  And each of these responses creates a different kind of journey for allies and LGBTQ+ alike.

There are many people out there who fall into the “I have a gay (or lesbian, or bi, or trans) friend and I want to be supportive” category, but may not know what “be supportive” means - or, for that matter, if their support is even wanted.  

PFLAG Gainesville says:  Yes, your support is wanted and very much needed.  We can help you learn more about what your LGBTQ+ friends are facing, work through any of the challenges you may face to being an ally, and find ways to demonstrate your support, no matter where you are on your ally journey.  

The ally journey means trying to think about LGBTQ+ people and how you can understand the role that you play in their lives.  For some of us, the journey may mean thinking about this topic beyond what we hear in the media, church, or the community at large and considering how it impacts our day-to-day interactions.  For others, it may mean a little soul-searching.  And there are those for whom it may mean building on an existing place of acceptance to take the dialogue further (or get it started).

Most people can easily name causes that they care about, and then tell you why a cause makes them feel it is “their” issue.  An environmentalist might say that they feel a responsibility as someone living on the planet to ensure that future generations inherit a healthy environment.  Someone who works to end hunger can point to the fact that they have the means and feel a responsibility to help end the pain and suffering that people endure when they go hungry.  But when it comes to being supportive of LGBTQ+ people, things often look different.

There are a lot of reasons that people may shy away from the topic.  Maybe it’s too political and they don’t want to cause controversy.  Perhaps it’s their religious beliefs.  But for many people, one of the big reasons they don’t feel that supporting the LGBTQ+ community is  “their” issue is because they don’t see how they’re connected to it.  

“When I had this realization that maybe thie whole gay thing applied to me too even thought I’m straight, I went online to search for ‘LGBT rights’ and found tons of stuff, but a lot of it wasn’t what I wanted.  Just because I’m thinking about this doesn’t mean I want to work on a political campaign.  Maybe someday, but right now, I just need to know how I’m supposed to fit in where I am today.“  - Mayra, 24.

That’s where PFLAG Gainesville comes in. Many new allies will find that they need to think about what led them to the place where they find themselves.  Was it the way their families taught them about their religion?  Was it their personal explorations? Was it because of a specific incident?  Knowing why they are where they are and getting educated, they can become strong advocates for change and through sharing their stories support other allies who are also on the journey.

Leveraging the nearly 50 years of experience that PFLAG has in helping people become more accepting—and sometimes even advocates—we’ve developed the following characteristics of what makes an effective ally. 

Rather than developing a stiff set of requirements for someone to be an ally, we thought about the qualities people—regardless of where they are on their ally journey—possess.

Therefore, allies are people who:

• Are willing to learn: You don’t have to know it all, just be ready to learn more.
• Work through their barriers: There are lots of reasons we don’t ally when we can; figure out yours and work through it.
• Are active, all the time: This isn’t about a label or a sticker. It’s about what you do every single day.