Let's start his by saying that when Rick Sanchez interviews Jim Naugle on national television, it's a sure omen that the world is nearing a fiery end. But that said, the mayor went off on the Sun-Sentinel and, though not by name, reporter Brittany Wallman (who is, as all of you know by now, the Wife of the Pulp).
Naugle started by saying, "Well, you know, part of the problem during this controversy is we have the 'South Florida Sun Sentinel' down here and they mischaracterize a lot of things. It really wasn't about the self-cleaning toilets ..."
Then:
Well, again, that was the "Sun Sentinel" who -- they don't subscribe to the Rupert Murdoch method of reporting the news and letting the people decide. They always have an agenda. What I did say -- I was questioned by a reporter for why do I use the term "homosexual" instead of "gay" and I said: Well, many gays aren't happy -- homosexuals aren't happy and I prefer to use the word rather than "homosexual" instead of "gay."
So what really bothers Naugle? It's that when he made the "homos ain't happy" remark, he didn't think the newspaper would actually print it. Here's what Michael Putney wrote in his Miami Herald column two weeks ago:
"Naugle told me he made the gays-aren't-happy comment in passing and didn't think the reporter would print it. Naive for a guy who has been the mayor of a big city for 16 years."
What a nice word, naive. Hey, even though the mayor makes little sense and continues on his crusade against the epidemic of gays having sex in our corn flakes, you have to admire his ability to get an endorsement of Rupert Murdoch in there. Bravo.
After the jump: The Full CNN Transcript
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, tonight we are going to let you hear from the mayor of Fort Lauderdale who's been getting an awful lot of heat for his comments about gays who live and visiting his city of Fort. Lauderdale. We first reported his comments last week, and it's turned into a bit of a firestorm. His own council is now, at least some of them, calling him both bigoted and despicable; those are some of the words that they've used. Now, it began when he said that he wanted to order small toilet stalls so that gay men can't have gay sex in them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JIM NAUGLE, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL: It's men having sex with men and I feel that it's necessary for an elected official just to tell it like it is and if that's a fault I have that I don't subscribe to political correctness...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: They mayor stirred things up again when he voted against having a gay and lesbian literary collection at the library. And then he held a news conference, not to apologize, but to offend his positions. So, he's resolute and consistent. There he is, resolute and consistent, Jim Naugle, we should say, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Mayor, thanks so much for being with us.
NAUGLE: Hey, good evening, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Man, you've got some real strong opinions about this. Is it an opinion about gays in general, and if so, what are they? Let's start there.
NAUGLE: Well, you know, part of the problem during this controversy is we have the "South Florida Sun Sentinel" down here and they mischaracterize a lot of things. It really wasn't about the self-cleaning toilets that were -- that staff had recommended because they were half the price of a traditional...
SANCHEZ: Then, what was it about? Because that's what was reported and that's what you said, wasn't it?
NAUGLE: Well, yeah, but it wasn't -- the self-cleaning toilets weren't the issue, the issue was that in many of our parks and public places we are listed on Websites, like cruising for sex, internationally, and go to these places where our children are to have sex with men. And parents, you know, if you're a little league dad or a soccer mom, you don't want go into the park because men are showing up at these different restrooms. We've had...
SANCHEZ: Well, then you know what? Then I'm behind you 100 percent. Nobody wants to see that. I don't care if it's men with men or men with women or whoever it is. Nobody wants to see something like that and want their kids to walk in on something like that. So, why not just put more police protection out there? Why go in the direction that has really ostracized you in this case?
NAUGLE: Well, you know, I mean, Police protection, there are more important things for police to be concerned about, like serious crime that every city has. What we are trying to do is get Fort Lauderdale removed from these cruising for sex Websites. And I'm even receiving support in the gay community, here in Fort Lauderdale, from responsible homosexuals that see it that it is a problem.
SANCHEZ: Let me stop you there.
NAUGLE: They admit it's a problem. They wish their friends would knock it off.
SANCHEZ: Mr. Mayor, let me just stop you right there because you used the world "homosexuals" and you've been quoted as saying this, which I think is interesting. You said, "I don't use the word 'gay' because most of them aren't gay, they are unhappy." Did you really say that or is that a misquote?
NAUGLE: Well, again, that was the "Sun Sentinel" who -- they don't subscribe to the Rupert Murdoch method of reporting the news and letting the people decide. They always have an agenda. What I did say -- I was questioned by a reporter for why do I use the term "homosexual" instead of "gay" and I said: Well, many gays aren't happy -- homosexuals aren't happy and I prefer to use the word rather than "homosexual" instead of "gay."
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But Mr. Mayor, who are you to define one whole slice of the population as a social psychologist and say whether they're happy or not. Isn't that beyond your purview as the mayor of Fort Lauderdale?
NAUGLE: You know, it's my personal views, they were my personal opinion is to use the word "homosexual," but the "Sun Sentinel" prefers the word "gay."
But I'm getting support from some homosexual in the community who do see that it's a problem. And one of the problems is because of this open attitude we've had in Fort Lauderdale, we're now No. 1 in the nation in AIDS cases in the classification men having sex with men and that's something that I want to address...
SANCHEZ: But, can you address that without castigating an entire group of people? Can some how provide maybe more public health facilities, can you help them with education and awareness as opposed to saying that the type of things that you know are going to get you heat and is only going to divide the community?
NAUGLE: Well, one thing we are doing is we're asking people everywhere in the city to report this activity when it takes place so the police can make arrests, so we can print the names of the individual that are engaging in this activity and we can put a stop to it. But the ironic thing is is that the Convention and Visitor's Bureau is even advertising in their vacation planner, the bath houses, which are one of the worst places for the spread of AIDS. And that's another thing that I'm going to try to get changed here in Fort Lauderdale so that we can be a healthier community. We welcome homosexual tourists to our city, as long as visitors, whether they're gay or straight, don't engage in these activities.
SANCHEZ: By the way, they gave your city about $1 billion last year, in terms of industry. So, that's not bad. That's something I imagine you city commissioners would like to keep, right? NAUGLE: It's our second most important industry. The marine industry is our largest industry. Tourism is good, we have around 10 million visitors and they claim that 800,000 or 900,000 are homosexual. SANCHEZ: And they are not crazy about you because of your comments, right now. But Mr. Naugle -- Mayor Naugle, we thank you, sir, for coming on and taking the heat, we appreciate it.
