It was a scene reminiscent of 2012.
That was when supporters and opponents of expanding the city’s anti-discrimination laws flooded a series of City Council meetings to speak their minds about the topic.
With two bills introduced Tuesday revisiting how to handle the issue, conversations again shifted to City Hall.
And like in Mayor Lenny Curry’s three community conversations that took place on college campuses the last several months, many of the arguments remained the same.
Let the people decide, many opponents said, supporting a referendum that council member Bill Gulliford’s bill would provide.
Others argued against it on moral and religious grounds and said it would create a special class of citizens.
And some brought up issues such a law would mean for safely using restrooms, an argument that shaped last year’s similar debate in Houston.
In that vein, the most jarring comments of the night came from an opponent — a man who identified himself as Roy Bay — who said he was sexually assaulted in a bathroom at a young age and then went on to sexually assault other children “most of my life.”
He had never been caught or jailed, he said, but had repented and found religion.
A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office spokesman at the meeting later said the man was questioned and a report had been opened based on his comments.
Supporters of expanding protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities were outnumbered in people but not by voices Tuesday.
A majority vote should not determine minority rights, many said.
Instead, elected leaders should make the decision — that’s why they were put into office. Council member Tommy Hazouri’s bill keeps the decision with elected officials instead of a referendum.
Others said it wasn’t a bill on homosexuality, but instead discrimination.
“All of us are only free because we are equal,” Rabbi Joshua Lief told council members.
In all, the public spoke for more than three hours on the issue — more time than was spent on all other council business combined.
Council President Greg Anderson was there for the first round of debates in 2012 when former colleague Warren Jones’ bill stirred up emotional pleas.
Anderson said this time he heard more conversations about the transgender side of the issue, whereas last time talks seemed to focus more on homosexuals.
He didn’t expect the turnout on the issue to happen so quickly, though. Instead, he said he expected more people to come to City Hall when council begins a series of committees-of-the-whole dedicated just to the human rights ordinance next month.
However, when he realized Tuesday’s expected turnout, a speaker system was put into place. All other council business was done first, with speakers on the human rights ordinance shifted to the second period of public comment that happens at the end of every meeting.
And much like the mayor did during his community conversations, speaker cards for and against were segregated and then shuffled. Each side was given an opportunity until the cards ran out.
The 2012 debates at council often turned loud, with cheers and applause coming from the audience after some speakers. Demonstrations like that aren’t allowed in council chambers and at one point, the room was cleared.
There were only a couple of moments of brief audience response Tuesday and the conversation remained almost completely civil, Anderson said with praise.
“I think Jacksonville really showed off a little bit tonight,” he said.
In two weeks, there will be another opportunity for the public to speak up on the issue.
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