Mayor Naugle is at it again

The infamous bigoted mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Jim Naugle is at it again. Despite the incidents of anti-LGBT violence that have occurred in his city, including the tragic murder of Simmie Williams and the beating of Melbourne Brunner, he is still railing on about the phantom gay potty sex in the public restrooms at the beach.

What's worse is that he is using taxpayer dollars to fund this bile in the latest city newsletter available on the Fort Lauderdale web site. A sample:

Imagine my dismay this past summer when I learned that a tourism website was listing one of our main children's parks as a location for men to meet for sex. And then, we discovered that other parks and public places were listed on other websites on the Internet.

Wait, how is this news? His own police department said that restroom sex was not a problem in the area. Furthermore, most of the men cruising restrooms for sex are not gay-identified -- they are men who are having sex with men but consider themselves heterosexual. Demonizing law-abiding gay citizens as the non-existent problem is what spurs tolerance of violence against LGBTs, and lo and behold that is the rotting fruit borne from Naugle's behavior throughout this sad chapter in his city's history. FightOutLoud calls for people to write the city commissioners:

Mayor Jim Naugle of Fort Lauderdale has once again used his office to spread fear and hate about the gay community. In the latest city newsletter, paid for by the city and available on the city's website, Naugle again used misinformation and bigotry to paint the LGBT community as predators and a danger.
In the official Mayor's message, on the very first page of the newsletter, Naugle again makes the claim that gay men are making our parks and public places unsafe for children and that we need to be "curtailing these illegal activities in the future." This echoes his continued attacks and claims that he wants to "stop an attempt by gays to take over Fort Lauderdale."
This newsletter, mailed to businesses and homes across the city, was sent out on February 16, 2008, only days before both the tragic shooting of Simmie Williams Jr and the savage gay-bashing on Las Olas Blvd. We cannot deny the dangerous effects of Mayor Naugle's words any longer.

How much longer will our city allow Naugle to incite hate and violence towards the LGBT community?

Have we so soon forgotten when Naugle held a press conference in City Hall this summer with so-called "religious" leaders (including the paramilitary-clad director of the men's ministry at Koinonia Worship Center, Mathes Guice, whose myspace page features the sounds of gunfire and battle) and made the call to "take back the streets of Fort Lauderdale from the homosexual community" and "transform Fort Lauderdale and Broward County into the Bible Belt of South Florida" because the LGBT community has "led the spiritual community on a collision course with Satan" (Sun-Sentinel, Sept 4, 2007). The Rev. Aaron Wiggins of Pompano also said, "This will not stand and we will stop it by any means necessary." Both men vowed to do whatever it takes to fend off the campaign waged by "gay activists" against Naugle (Broward Times, Sept 7 2007).

...Please contact the Fort Lauderdale City Commission and demand they act!

Commissioner Christine Teel: CTeel@fortlauderdale.gov
Commissioner Charlotte E. Rodstrom: CRodstrom@fortlauderdale.gov
Commissioner Carlton B. Moore: CMoore@fortlauderdale.gov
Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson: CHutchinson@fortlauderdale.gov