Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, organizes events in the community every so often called “equality connections.” They are informal mixers that bring LGBT people and their allies together so they can meet one another, network, and hear about the latest news from Equality Florida. The next Equality Florida equality connection in South 
At Equality Florida’s equality connections, hors d’oeuvres are served and a team of Equality Florida development officers and volunteers talk to the attendees, making sure they are signed up for Equality Florida’s mailing list and recruiting a stable of possible volunteers for future community events.
Once that is finished, the development officers will lead a discussion revolving around Equality Florida’s (and the Florida LGBT community’s) recent successes. These would include Florida’s legalization of same-sex marriage in January 2015; the recent Florida Legislature session, in which no anti-LGBT bills were passed this year; and the favorable verdict in the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges in June 2015, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Equality Florida’s development officers will also talk about what work still needs to be done in Florida, such as the advancement of the “Florida Competitive Workforce Act,” which would ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as formulating a comprehensive statewide non-discrimination law.
It is free to attend Equality Florida equality connection events like the one at Via Verdi. All you have to do is RSVP for the event by going to eqfl.org/equalityconnection/miami5 and filling out the online form. That helps the organizers know how many people are coming so they can plan the event accordingly.
For more information on Equality Florida, visit eqfl.org. Follow them on Twitter for real-time updates @equalityfl.
