CNN: Gay activists want to 'flush' Ft. Lauderdale mayor
by
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
CNN reported Thursday on a dispute that began when Mayor Jim Naugle of Fort Lauderdale, FL proposed buying a high-tech portable toilet for the beach to prevent men from having sex in public bathrooms. "Not surprisingly," said CNN, "a coalition of national gay and lesbian rights groups has taken offense, calling the mayor insensitive at best, homophobic at worst. ... Flush Naugle signs and t-shirts are everywhere."
CNN added that Mayor Naugle "also reportedly said he doesn't call homosexuals gay because 'most are unhappy'" and showed him saying, "We're all sinners." Naugle, who co-chaired President Bush's campaign in Broward County in 2000, has expressed strong support for the anti-gay, fundamentalist Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, located in Fort Lauderdale.
As the dispute intensified, the mayor announced he was calling a news conference to apologize, but it turned out his intention was to apologize to children and parents because "the
so-called gay sex problem was even worse than he thought." Despite this, noted CNN, "police report only four incidents of alleged male sex acts in public bathrooms since November 2005."
"He was there to grandstand," complained openly gay former Vice-Mayor Dean Trantalis. "I feel betrayed, and I think he's betrayed not only me, but he's betrayed the entire community here in Fort Lauderdale."
The mayor has also attacked gay tourists, who spend a billion dollars a year and are directly targeted by visitors' bureau advertising.
The following video is from CNN.com, released on August 9.
CNN