MIAMI — Roberta Fulton Fox, a Coral Gables feminist and attorney who pushed women's and children's issues in both houses of the Florida Legislature, died of breast cancer at her home on Sunday. She was 65.
Fox, a Democrat, served 10 years in Tallahassee -- 1976-1982 in the House, District 110, followed by a single term in the Senate -- and practiced law with husband Mike Gold.
Fox's greatest legislative triumphs included bills protecting children: one permitting children to testify via video in abuse cases, another mandating fingerprinting and background checks for anyone working with kids.
Both came in the 1985 session.
Fox crusaded to open up the secretive process for choosing state appellate court judges, and for a three-day "cooling off period'' in handgun sales.
Perhaps her greatest disappointment: the Equal Rights Amendment's failure in 1982. Fox led the campaign to pass it in the House, 60-58. The Senate voted it down 22-16.
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