[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 18, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF BILLY MANES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 2014

  Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Lesbian, Gay, 
Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, to recognize Billy Manes. 
Billy Manes is senior staff writer for Orlando Weekly, an alternative 
newsweekly dedicated to giving the deserved breadth, character and 
feeling to stories that are often overlooked.
  Immediately after graduating from the Florida State University, Manes 
began a career in journalism, helping to launch an alternative weekly 
out of the Tallahassee Democrat offices in 1995.
  In 1997, Manes moved to Orlando and began freelancing for Orlando 
Weekly, soon developing a following as a pop-cultural raconteur and 
nightlife columnist. In 2005, he ran for Mayor of Orlando in a special 
election which was later cancelled. Nonetheless, Manes caught the 
political bug, and soon became a full-time news reporter for Orlando 
Weekly.
  In 2007, Manes detailed the difficulties facing gay couples who were 
seeking legal validation for their relationships in the face of an 
imminent marriage ban in Florida. Controversy arose when a photo of 
Manes and his longtime partner kissing was used as the cover photo of 
Orlando Weekly for the article.
  In 2012, that story would prove all too prescient, when Manes' 
partner of 11 years, Alan Ray Jordan, passed away, setting off a string 
of horrible events pitting Manes against both his partner's family and 
the laws of the State of Florida.
  Manes went on to document that fight in what would become a globally 
circulated story and later, a documentary. He traveled to Tallahassee 
two years in a row to fight for a statewide domestic partnership 
registry so that others might not have to experience the pain that he 
had.
  In addition to numerous awards over the years from the Association of 
Alternative Newsmedia, the Sunshine State Awards, and the Florida Press 
Club, Manes was named a 2013 Voice of Equality by Equality Florida.
  He would like to dedicate this honor to his family and, most 
especially, to the man who taught him the most, Alan Ray Jordan.
  I am happy to honor Billy Manes, during LGBT Pride Month, for his 
contributions to the LGBT community and the State of Florida.

                          ____________________