Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, in honor of Pride Month, I would like to honor Eric Rollings. After 30 years of change, of loss, and of victories, Eric Rollings continues to be one of the most active and visible LGBT leaders in Orange County. Eric started volunteering at the Hope and Help Center in the early 1990s because he witnessed the injustices and stigma that his friends suffered from HIV/AIDS as they were dealing with it every day. In 1993, he was awarded the Volunteer of the Year for his dedication. In the present day, Eric is serving his sixth term on the Community Development Block Grant Board and helps secure funding for the LGBT+ Center of central Florida and helps make recommendations for housing and services for people living with HIV/AIDS and low- to moderate- income households in the Orlando area. In Eric's early small business career he was discriminated against for being gay. He saw an opportunity to help educate other business entrepreneurs and worked to provide a safe business environment. With that, he helped grow the Metropolitan Business Association, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce, serving on the board of directors twice. Eric, with many of his friends and activist allies, was instrumental in passing ordinances and protections for the LGBT people of the city of Orlando and Orange County.…”