I received an email today from Nicki Grossman of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau encouraging Blend readers to not judge the area by the actions of one homophobic mayor, Jim Naugle.

I wish to reassure you and your readers that Greater Fort Lauderdale is a warmly welcoming destination to ALL travelers. We stand united and proud that our destination has long been enjoyed by gay visitors and supported by the local gay community.

It is important for you to know that the long-standing and positive reputation in the hospitality industry, and the actions of our community, speak far louder than the words of any one individual. Our tourism industry long ago rolled out the Rainbow Carpet and we are committed to providing SUNsational Service to all visitors—straight and gay.  Our community is very proud of the diversity of our residents and our visitors.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau has aggressively promoted the destination to the gay travel market for more than ten years and will continue to do so. As home to the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, and with more than 100 gay-owned establishments including 30 gay guesthouses, plus restaurants and bars and the second largest Metropolitan Community Church, we invite your readers to personally come and experience our diversity. 

We look forward to welcoming readers of this blog to our sunny beaches and appreciate your continued support of Greater Fort Lauderdale.

Thank you. 

Nicki E. Grossman
President
Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau

No need to convince; we know there are plenty of fair minded people there who don’t believe gays are “taking over” or having orgies in beach restrooms.

Related:

* Laff fest from activeChristianmedia.com
* Flushing Naugle
* Fundie defends homophobic robo-potty mayor Naugle
* Pro-diversity rally in Ft. Lauderdale today to counter the $250K robo-potty mayor
* Gay activists call for Ft. Lauderdale ‘robojohn’ mayor to step down
* Images of beach restroom sex vex Ft. Lauderdale mayor, calls for robojohns