Florida’s official tourism website quietly removed a landing page for the state’s LGBTQ-friendly travel destinations sometime in the past four months.

The website for the state’s tourism marketing corporation, VisitFlorida.com, had an “LGBTQ Travel” section that no longer exists, according to archived versions of the site viewable on the Internet Archive. The landing page previously featured blog posts and videos related to the state’s gay-friendly beaches, Pride events and LGBTQ road trip ideas.

“There’s a sense of freedom to Florida’s beaches, the warm weather and the myriad activities — a draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance,” the landing page used to read. “Whether you’re a couple seeking a romantic getaway or a modern family searching for kid-friendly fun, here are some LGBTQ-friendly destinations for you, throughout the Sunshine State.”

  • would_be_appreciated
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    3 months ago

    It’s always amazing to me when Republicans pick bigotry over profits. They pick profits over family, friends, lives, environment, religion, you name it - feels like profits are king. And then they pull shit like this, and I’m just astonished at how much cruelty reigns supreme.

    • littlewonder@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Happens all the time. Starbucks chose to close profitable locations instead of letting them unionize. If I was a substantial stockholder in these types of companies, I’d want their board on a platter.

    • SGGeorwell@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      That’s a surprising and insightful comment. I never really thought about it, but you’re absolutely right.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      bigotry over profits

      LOL, see my post above about Memorial Day weekend. You won’t hear a single anti gay sentiment. (And you won’t the rest of the year either.)

      • saigot@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        If you want someone to see a different post than yours, you will have to link it. The posts are in a constantly changing order, “above” doesn’t mean anything.

  • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Maybe they simply don’t have any lqbt friendly places? That would actually not be that hard to believe :D

    • RBWells@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      No, we have a large and vibrant queer population here, and plenty of gay events. I would guess it’s just simple bigotry of the governor himself. He wants them back in the closet. Tampa is #5 in the nation in terms of absolute numbers of population being gay, our current mayor is lesbian. And Florida overall about 5% gay, that’s average or more, it’s certainly not hidden.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Come to Pensacola Beach for Memorial Day weekend, every LGBT person in the South is partying down. A truly gay event in both senses of the word. We’re not talking about a few thousand people, think tens of thousands.

      https://www.visitpensacola.com/blog/a-guide-to-lgbtq-weekend-on-pensacola-beach/

      Best part is that despite being the most conservative part of the state, suddenly the rainbow flags fly and we love gay people! The annual tsunami of cash may have something to do with that.

      On a serious note, no one really gives a shit about homosexuality down here. Notice how the hate pivoted to trans folks and drag queens? The gay hate lost all traction.

      • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        Hi, LGBT person in the South here, you won’t catch me fucking dead in Florida right now. No thanks. I’ll keep my tourism money at home, and so should anyone else who cares about gay issues.

      • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I am not an American, have never been to Florida and have based my joke entirely on the Florida jokes on the internet. Enjoy the party