The city of Naples and the county of Collier do NOT have such protections.' In fact, 59 percent of people in Florida live in jurisdictions with these protections.
'That said, many cities and counties in Florida have local ordinances that prohibit such discrimination. 'Currently Florida lacks explicit nondiscrimination protections prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in places of public accommodations,' Naomi Goldberg, the policy and research director at Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank, said in an email. Only 20 states and the District of Columbia have laws explicitly prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ people in places accessible to the public.
While Liu appears to have had a change of heart, his refusal to serve the gay couple on Monday was not against state law.
