Naugle notwithstanding, Fort Lauderdale to get new LGBT library

News 2007-07-12 Naugle notwithstanding, Fort Lauderdale to get new LGBT library Fort Lauderdale, Fla., city commissioners Tuesday approved an LGBT archive's move into a city-owne

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., city commissioners Tuesday approved an LGBT archive's move into a city-owned library over the objections of gay-challenged mayor Jim Naugle, who fretted that the move might expose patrons to pornography.

Commissioners voted 3–2 to give the nonprofit Stonewall Library and Archive a new, larger home in a building the city leases to Broward County. Stonewall now occupies space in the Fort Lauderdale Gay and Lesbian Center, whose management is selling its building and constructing bigger digs nearby.

Naugle, already taking flak for recent comments that gays are "unhappy" and allegedly use city restrooms for "illegal sex," shared his shock that the Stonewall archive contains gay erotica. Before Tuesday's meeting he showed reporters adult magazines that city workers said are part of the Stonewall holdings, with titles such as 100 Percent Beef, Lesbian Bedtime Stories, and Arab Slave Boys.

"I had no idea this was what the homosexual book collection is all about," the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper quoted him as saying. "It's a shame it had to come out during this whole toilet controversy. They'll think it's some antigay thing—um, antihomosexual."

Stonewall executive director Jack Rutland told Gay.com that the above-mentioned titles are in the collection's noncirculating archive, which includes 7,000 documents relevant to national and Southeastern LGBT history.

"If you are documenting gay and lesbian history, erotica is part of that," Rutland said.

There is also a circulating collection of 18,000 books and films, he said, and the new space will give patrons better access to it.

Inevitably, Tuesday's meeting was partly a referendum on Naugle's views.

"Reach into your hearts and make this gay man a happy gay man," jibed out former commissioner Dean Trantalis from the audience.

"If I've learned one thing from this," the Sun-Sentinel quoted Naugle as saying, "it's that there are a lot of happy homosexuals in Fort Lauderdale."

Naugle and commissioner Christine Teel cast the dissenting votes. (Barbara Wilcox, The Advocate)

Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter. Page 1 of 1

READ COMMENTS (0) MORE \ EMAIL PRINT

RECOMMEND

More Online Only

Commentary Progress in the Midwest
A city native and strong supporter of Kalamazoo's effort to keep an anti-discrimination law reflects on a hard-won campaign.

Commentary What Marriage in Maine Meant for Me

Dana Hernandez is a straight white married mother of two young children. But in campaigning for No on 1 and reporting Election Night outcomes for Advocate.com, defeat hit her like a ton of bricks.

Marriage Equality Terri White Stages Her Leather Encore

Last year, acclaimed stage performer Terri White was homeless and living in a public park. On Sunday, she and her partner held a leather-themed commitment ceremony onstage following her triumphant Broadway turn in Finian’s Rainbow.

Music Ghost Story

Out singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile discusses working with her childhood mentor, coming out publicly, and joining next year's Lilith Fair.

News View From Washington: GOP Upheaval

Now that the only pro-marriage equality candidate in New York's 23rd Congressional district, Republican Dede Scozzafava, has dropped out of the race, Tuesday's election holds any number of political lessons for both the GOP and the LGBT community.

Books Hot Sheet: Ditto Knocking 'Em Dead

This week might not bring anything to the screen other than a Boondock Saints sequel, but there are plenty of reasons to sit at home on the couch or head to your local concert venue.

News Features Sailor Speaks Out
Sailor Joseph Rocha endured years of hazing until he spoke out — then he was discharged for revealing his homosexuality. Nonetheless, the 23-year-old is itching to suit back up.

Music Rainbow High

Busy Broadway heartthrob, gay rights activist, and former Advocate coverboy Cheyenne Jackson chats about his Finian’s Rainbow revival, his politically charged cabaret CD, and laying around in his underpants (pic on page five).

Marriage Equality For Maine, The Time is Now
Money is on their side and the polls look optimistic, but volunteers fighting to preserve marriage equality in Maine are prepared for a fight to the finish.

Television Another Tough Broad

After being outed by a Nazi and locking lips with a hook-up three times in one episode, Christine Woods's tough-talking FBI agent Janis Hawk on ABC's FlashForward might just be prime time's best gay offering — who isn't in Glee club, that is.

Books In Sickness and in Health

Mary Cappello’s memoir Called Back takes readers on a white-knuckle journey through the experience of cancer treatment in America — especially disorienting to navigate as a woman and a lesbian.

Books An American Crime

Best-selling novelist Patricia Cornwell made headlines last week when she filed suit against a New York investment firm for losing $40 million of her money. But she'd much rather talk about her new book, hate-crimes legislation, and Angelina Jolie.

Comedy Gilded Lily

After conquering Broadway, movies, and television, out funny lady Lily Tomlin prepares for the final frontier — Las Vegas.

Entertainment News Ricky Martin, No Shirt and a Baby
Ricky Martin knows how to get the camera's attention. Take a look at the many pictures of Ricky uploaded to his Twitter account in the past three months, always shirtless, frequently carrying one (or both) of his babies.

Television Fresh Blood
With True Blood a bona-fide cultural phenomenon, producer Alan Ball offers tantalizing hints about what to expect on season 3.