Florida Lawmakers Bribing Filmmakers to Omit Gay Characters?

Florida Republicans want to attract more filmmakers and television producers to the state by offering them financial incentives - but only if they agree to exclude positive LGBT characters in their storylines.  Presumably, gay villains would be acceptable since that would fit nicely into the conservatives' anti-homo agenda.

From the Palm Beach Post:  Movies and TV shows with gay characters could be ineligible for a "family-friendly" tax credit in Florida under a little-noticed provision tucked into a $75 million incentive package that Republican House leaders hope will attract film and entertainment jobs to the state.  The bill would prohibit productions with "nontraditional family values" from receiving a so-called family-friendly tax credit.  But it doesn't precisely define what "nontraditional family values" are, something the bill's sponsor had a hard time doing, too.

"Think of it as like Mayberry," state Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando, said, referring to The Andy Griffith Show. "That's when I grew up — the '60s. That's what life was like."  (Actually, that is NOT what life was like in the sixties.  It's what the old Hollywood studio system wanted America to think life was like.  I grew up in rural East Texas during that decade - and believe me, towns like Mayberry didn't exist.)  Precourt, whose district includes Walt Disney World, said he was not targeting the gay community by including the term "nontraditional family values" in his bill. But when asked if shows with gay characters should get the tax credit, he said, "That would not be the kind of thing I'd say that we want to invest public dollars in."

From On Top Magazine:  Under current Florida law, family-friendly films that exclude smoking, sex, nudity or vulgar language are eligible for a 2 percent credit.  Precourt's bill would boost the credit to 5 percent and add the nontraditional family values prohibition.  (Which would encourage movie producers and directors to "de-gay" the characters in their scripts more than they already do.  Render our lives less visible.)

Republican Governor Charlie Crist, long rumored to be a closet case despite his sudden "marriage" (which many viewed as politically motivated), is totally on board with this tax break for "wholesome" non gay-inclusive entertainment.  He thinks the idea of making films without all those "offensive" LGBT families is just ABsolutely FABulous:  "Let me define it in the positive," he said.  "A traditional family is a marriage between a man and a woman. That's traditional." 

If you say so, Charlie.   (Pictured Top: Rep. Precourt)

Comments

[BGryphon]

Mayberry? Has anyone asked Ronnie Howard for a comment?

[Carol]

I was brought up in several different small towns in North Carolina. My family moved around a lot. No Mayberry's there. But there was a sweet older gay couple in one little town we lived in. Everybody knew, but nobody made a big deal about it. Maybe the state of Florida should call back Anita Bryant to head its Entertainment Quality Control. (gag me)

[Amanda]

I guess they won't be able to film Gov Crist's life story, then. That would be rated "R"