Nasty Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle is at it again

March 4, 2008

To: Commissioner Christine Teel, Commissioner Charlotte E. Rodstrom,

Commissioner Carlton B. Moore, Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson

Re: Jim Naugle Uses Tax Dollars to Incite Violence in South Florida

Honorable Commissioners of Ft. Lauderdale;

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. While we know that Mayor Naugle is not the direct cause of the violence in our community, we cannot deny the dangerous effects of his words any longer. He has continually used his office to promote an atmosphere of fear and intolerance towards the LGBT community. We cannot deny the dangerous effects of Mayor Naugle’s words any longer.

While we recognize that Simmie William's murder and other recent hate crimes are not the direct result of any single statement, we also understand that when leaders demonize the LGBT community their comments contribute to an atmosphere of hostility in which harassment and violence flourish. Simply stated, Broward County is less safe for LGBT citizens because of the Mayor's comments.

The LGBT community and citizens of Ft. Lauderdale are respectable, tax paying, voting citizens of this great city. They deserve the SAME LEVEL of respect, representation, protection and leadership as the rest of your community. Illegal activity is NOT limited to a specific group or minority. Having an ELECTED city leader use public funds to propagate hate, fear, and promote violence is in NOT ACCPETABLE.

UNITY COALITION/COALICION UNIDA, Florida's leading Latino/Hispanic gay civil-rights nonprofit initiative, offering leadership on issues that concern Latino/Hispanic LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and other minority groups, joins dozens of community groups and leaders in demanding immediate change and a stop to the propagation of hate and discrimination by the City of Ft. Lauderdale's Mayor.

Some of the groups that join Unity Coalition in this view are: Fight OUT Loud, Equality Florida, SAVE, Ambiente Magazine, Gay American Heroes Foundation, League Against AIDS, and many more.

Something must be done about the impact of the Mayor's behavior on the city of Fort Lauderdale. We respectfully suggest that an item be added to your next regular meeting agenda to discuss this particular use of public monies. City commissioners must not condone the use of public funds to denigrate the LGBT community by remaining silent. You must do something about Mayor Naugle and his campaign of hate and discrimination - NOW.


Respectfully,
Herb Sosa

Unity Coalition/Coalicion Unida

________________________________

UNITY COALITION/COALICION UNIDA is Florida's leading Latino/Hispanic gay civil-rights nonprofit initiative, offering leadership on issues that concern Latino/Hispanic LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and other minority groups.

COALICION UNIDA, una niciativa sin fines de lucros y lider en la Florida en defender los derechos civiles de la comunidad latina/hispana LGBT (lesbianas, gay, bisexual, transgenero), ofreciendo liderazgo en asuntos concernientes a este y otros grupos minoritarios.


www.unitycoalition.org

Mayor's gay remarks split black community

[originally posted in the Miami Herald, September 23]

Inside Fort Lauderdale City Hall, a contingent of gay white men squared off against black ministers this month, arguing over civil rights.

Outraged over the ministers' decision to announce their support of Mayor Jim Naugle's crusade against homosexuals on Sept. 4, about 20 gay activists wearing red shirts and AIDS pins condemned the clergymen the next day for not being sympathetic to their cause -- one they say mirrors the African-American struggle.

The ministers did not agree.

''You didn't have to drink from separate fountains. Our struggle is not the same ... you can't equate race and sexuality,'' O'Neal Dozier, pastor of the Worldwide Christian Center, told one activist. ``Slavery was not a choice.''

''Yours is a message of hate, minister ... you don't speak on behalf of freedom,'' answered Michael Rajner of the Campaign to End AIDS, a nonprofit group.

Now the debate over gay rights threatens to drive a wedge between members of South Florida's black community. Despite the support that many black ministers showed for Naugle, the local NAACP took a public stand against the mayor, calling his crusade a ``hate campaign.''

''I'm not here to condone or condemn gay sex,'' Marsha Ellison, head of the Broward NAACP, told The Miami Herald. ``This is a hate campaign against gays launched by the mayor.''

She said the branch's position -- adopted after a unanimous vote of its 22-member executive committee as well as branch members -- echoes the national NAACP's position. ''Anytime any group is discriminated against it becomes a civil rights issue,'' she said.

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond made national headlines with his recent endorsement of gay marriage -- a step several prominent black ministers publicly criticized.

While Bond has noted that ''no parallel between movements for rights is exact,'' his position differs with ministers and others who suggest that sexual orientation is a matter of choice. He wrote last year: ``Like race, our sexuality isn't a preference -- it is inborn, and the Constitution protects us all against discrimination based on immutable differences.''

Naugle drew scorn from gay activists nationwide after endorsing an advisory board proposal to spend $250,000 on an automated public restroom on Fort Lauderdale beach. The mayor said it would cut down on men having sex in public facilities.

Initially, the city said only two people had been arrested for sexual activity in a public restroom since 2005. But Naugle recently said that number is at least eight, including a recent arrest at Holiday Park.

Coming to Naugle's support this month was a coalition of ministers who argue that the NAACP's stand is out of step.

Read the rest in the Miami Herald.

Fort Lauderdale Tourism Board Flushes Mayor Jim Naugle

As signs began to appear that Mayor Jim Naugle's disparaging remarks about gay people were having an effect on the city's tourism, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, with whom Naugle met last week, decided to strip him of his seat on the group's board, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

According to the group, "A gay-oriented convention that was to draw 200 attendees this fall is on hold. A group that plans black family reunions has voiced concern about whether the mayor was sending a message of intolerance. Bookings of college and high-school sporting events is also down compared to last year."

Read the rest on Towleroad.

Check out FlushNaugle.org.


Some of La Naugle's recent pearls:

		"I grew up watching The Flintstones, a cartoon we had growing up,'' he said. "... The jingle was 'We'll have a gay old time in Bedrock.' They weren't referring to Betty getting it on with Wilma. It was meant as a happy time. Many homosexuals are not happy. Some are, but many are not.'' Sun-Sentinel, August 3, 2007 "I don't use the word 'gay.' I use the word 'homosexual.' Most of them aren't gay. They're unhappy." Sun-Sentinel, July 4, 2007 "We're trying to provide a family environment where people can take their children ho need to use the bathroom without having to worry about a couple of men in there engaged in a sex act." Sun-Sentinel, July 4, 2007 Stating public restrooms are pickup places for "homosexuals. ... They're engaging in sex, anonymous sex, illegal sex." Sun-Sentinel, July 4, 2007