ANNALS OF DeSANTISTAN: Florida quietly removes LGBTQ+ travel info from state website. (AP)

On June 7, 2005, United States District Court Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr. ordered Rainbow flags to fly on our Bridge of Lions from June 8-13, 2000.  Landmark First Amendment case in Rev. Ruth Jensen & her wife, Elizabeth Forbell, vs. City of St. Augustine.  By June 11, 2005, Pride Day, eople flew here from New York and California out or appreciation and awe for our community's achievement..  In 2024, shady Governor RONALD DION DeSANTIS brandished, once again, his hick hack hauteur and hateful hostility to LGBTQ+ inclusion.  Pray for Governor DeSANTIS and his ilk.  In the words of Samuel Goldwyn, "Include me out" from your hate in our state. From Associated Press:

Florida quietly removes LGBTQ+ travel info from state website

Updated 6:16 PM EDT, August 21, 2024

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and St. Petersburg are among several Florida cities that have long been top U.S. destinationsfor LGBTQ+ tourists. So it came as a surprise this week when travelers learned that Florida’s tourism marketing agency quietly removed the “LGBTQ Travel” section from its website sometime in the past few months.

Business owners who cater to Florida’s LGBTQ+ tourists said Wednesday that it marked the latest attempt by officials in the state to erase the LGBTQ+ community. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis previously championed a bill to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, and supported a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, as well as a law meant to keep children out of drag shows.

“It’s just disgusting to see this,” said Keith Blackburn, who heads the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “They seem to want to erase us.”

The change to Visit Florida’s website was first reported by NBC News, which noted a search query still pulls up some listings for LGBTQ+-friendly places despite the elimination of the section.

John Lai, who chairs Visit Florida’s board, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday. Dana Young, Visit Florida’s CEO and president, didn’t respond to a voicemail message Wednesday, and neither did the agency’s public relations director.

Visit Florida is a public-private partnership between the state of Florida and the state’s tourism industry. The state contributes about $50 million each year to the quasi-public agency from two tourism and economic development funds.

Florida is one of the most popular states in the U.S. for tourists, and tourism is one of its biggest industries. Nearly 141 million tourists visited Florida in 2023, with out-of-state visitors contributing more than $102 billion to Florida’s economy.

Blackburn said the change and other anti-LGBTQ+ policies out of Tallahassee make it more difficult for him to promote South Florida tourism since he encounters prospective travelers or travel promoters who say they don’t want to do business in the state.

Last year, for instance, several civil rights groups issued a travel advisory for Florida,saying that policies championed by DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”

But visitors should also understand that many Florida cities are extremely inclusive, with gay elected officials and LGBTQ+-owned businesses, and they don’t reflect the policies coming from state government, Blackburn added.

“It’s difficult when these kinds of stories come out, and the state does these things, and we hear people calling for a boycott,” Blackburn said. “On one level, it’s embarrassing to have to explain why people should come to South Florida and our destination when the state is doing these things.”