FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. (WPLG) – The Stonewall National Museum is demanding a refund after Florida removed its LGBTQ page from the state’s tourism website.
The executive director of the Fort Lauderdale museum worries the move will hurt its revenue and turn visitors away.
“We have about thirty thousand books in the library,” Director Robert Kesten said.
It’s one of the largest nationally collected LGBTQ archives in the world. From a gold record of the Village People to the gavel used to ring out the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, Keston knows where every single item is kept.
The Stonewall National Museum Archives and Library in Fort Lauderdale largely depends on visitors, many of them tourists, to stay afloat.
And like many businesses and organizations, it pays a membership fee to the state-run tourism website “Visit Florida,” in hopes of getting exposure as an LGBTQ destination.
But now the museum wants a refund.
The state site recently caused controversy, when it deleted a page promoting Florida as a destination to the LGBTQ community.
“It certainly makes me angry,” Kesten said. “There is no reason to discredit a group of people that drive tremendous amounts of tourist dollars into the state.”
Florida Governor Ron Desantis recently defended the move by Visit Florida.
“Our view as a state is we’re the best place to visit. We’re open to all but we’re not going to be segregating people,” DeSantis said.
However, after the move, the site still has pages marketing to groups like Latinos and African Americans.
“Money should be refunded, an apology should be made and the pages should be reinstated,” Kesten said.
Visit Florida’s CEO has yet to say if the museum will be getting a refund.
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