Florida Lawmaker: No Tax Credit to Movies with Gays, “Non-Traditional Family Values”
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With 45 states offering tax incentives to lure movie and TV productions, there’s a lot of competition for film and video money. But that doesn’t seem to bother Florida lawmaker Stephen Precourt who would like a bonus 2% tax incentive to film in Florida yanked from productions that depict “non-traditional family values” along with smoking, drinking and “gratuitous” violence.
Wait, I thought Republicans were against government interference in business and opposed the idea of a nanny state dictating behavior and thoughts.
And so what exactly is “non-traditional” anyway?
Florida Gov. Charlie Cris has an explanation. Sort of.
Let me define it in the positive. A traditional family is a marriage between a man and a woman. That’s traditional.
Hmmm, so would the Partridge Family be a traditional family? What about Three Men and a Baby? Scarface, Bad Boys and Miami Vice would not have qualified for the extra tax break under Precourt’s version of the Florida’s Entertainment Industry Economic Development Act. Neither would have Pirates of the Caribbean or Avatar which were high budget features that did not shoot in Florida. What about Nip/Tuck? Not exactly traditional or suitable for a 5-year old to watch!
While Florida already offer a “family-friendly”tax credit, Precourt’s proposal ups the ante to exclude certain content:
A certified production determined by the Commissioner of Film and Entertainment, with the advice of the Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council, to be family-friendly…Family-friendly productions are those that have cross-generational appeal; would be considered suitable for viewing by children age 5 or older…and do not exhibit or imply any act of smoking, sex, nudity, nontraditional family values, gratuitous violence, or vulgar or profane language. Under the current incentive program, review of the final release version is not required and nontraditional family values, gratuitous violence, and implied acts do not exclude a film from receiving this additional credit.
Brian Winfield, Director of Communications for Equality Florida told me that
The term non-traditional is limiting and Equality Florida will do anything we can to work with our legislative allies to strike that language.
Over one-third of Florida children are being raised in single-parent families, while there are other family structures that include children being raised by extended family members and in foster care, as well in blended families. These dynamics also include LGBT families.
Asked if productions with gay characters should get the tax credit, Precourt said:
That would not be the kind of thing I’d say that we want to invest public dollars in.
Well, here in Los Angeles, CA we have these things called “film lots” and “soundstages” where anything can be created, even Florida! And according to Film LA which I spoke to today:
There is no level of government oversight here. We do not become involved in First Amendment issues.
[HT Think Progress]
Unless Governor Crist and his newly acquired Mrs — whose business is making costume beards, I shit you not — become procreative, I have bad news for them from the Prop 8 trial: their marriage is no more legitimate in the eyes of the fundies than one between two dudes.