Florida GOP: No More Tax Credits For Movies Made With Gay Characters

Like many states, Florida offers huge tax incentives to movie studios in order to lure big budget productions to film locally. The Florida GOP and state Rep. Stephen Precourt don't have a problem with that, they just want to make sure that no productions with gay characters get the tax break.

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 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. I want Florida to be known for making those kinds of movies: Disney movies for kids and all that stuff. Like it used to be, you know?”

I guess that shoots down a tax break for The Charlie Crist Story.