Speak out for Ft. Lauderdale

The flap in Ft. Lauderdale isn’t going away, as Mayor Jim Naugle’s various assertions (that robotic toilets are the answer to public gay sex, that homosexuals are inherently unhappy, and many more) continue to fuel an unfortunate fire in what has historically been one of the world’s most welcoming gay travel communities. There are a wide range of hotels and guesthouses that receive consistently glowing praise from our members, and we hate to see a wonderful business and pleasure destination suffering through such an avoidable struggle.

As the Gay Travel Blog shows us with its July 29 post and linkthrough to the Sun Sentinel, the media has gone to work letting us all know that gay tourism will survive. Meanwhile, some factions would like to put a dent in that sense of security, calling for a tourist boycott of the area.

We do not believe that diminishing our presence in Ft. Lauderdale is the answer. Yes, it will rob the city of a core source of revenue, but it will also make deep cuts into the businesses that have worked hard to make the area so welcoming in the first place.

We therefore encourage our members to raise their voices before launching a boycott: join us in emailing the Mayor’s office (mayorjames@aol.com), the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida (info@glccsf.org), and The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - GLAAD (contact via their website) with constructive thoughts on the matter. Worth noting that GLAAD issued a press release on this subject and deserves our full support for putting a good foot forward.

We look forward to the Mayor adopting an attitude that better represents his city’s history and community – or to stepping down in favor of one who will.