I’ve always endorsed the disciplinary philosophy of ignoring bad behavior. The screaming, stamping and spanking that adults frequently utilize to restore temporary calm to their universe when kids act up actually serves as a reward for misbehavior. The child has gotten what he/she wanted—your attention. The score is inevitably Kids - 1; Parents - 0. And I speak with some experience in this arena as a retired pediatrician with several decades of experience and now as a volunteer in a program for pre-school kids. Ignore bad behavior and don’t reward it with your attention.

But what do you do when the bad behavior isn’t from a child, but from an adult? In fact, what do you do when the bad behavior emanates from the mayor of the city in which you live—in this case, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, my current home? I’d love to ignore his honor’s bad behavior and wish it away, but local and national media coverage won’t allow that. Since many Rehoboth residents and visitors are also Fort Lauderdale residents and visitors, the story is worth repeating, painful as it is.

Several weeks ago, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Jim Naugle, announced that the city commissioners were considering the installation of a public toilet near Sebastian Beach, a well known stretch of sand frequented by gays, to the tune of $250,000. The unique features of this extravagant outhouse were that it is robotic—completely automatic—with automatic flush, automatic sanitization after every use and an automatic door locking device that allows an occupant sixty seconds to do what they gotta’ do. Then, again automatically, the door opens. In the mayor’s judgment this would be a worthwhile expenditure since it would cut down on the number of gay men having sex in public rest rooms. He later expanded his comments to say that the toilet scheme would be an effective way of cutting down on HIV transmission.

In recent interviews he’s said, "We’re trying to provide a family environment (reminiscent of the bad old days of "Let’s Keep Rehoboth a Family Town") where people can take their children who need to use the bathroom without having to worry about a couple of men in there engaged in a sex act." Adding to his non-existent reputation as a man for all constituents, the mayor has further stated, "I don’t use the word ‘gay.’ I use the word ‘homosexual.’ Most of them aren’t gay. They’re unhappy."

You must understand that this is the same mayor who within the past year—borrowing from Marie Antoinette—implored local residents who could no longer afford to buy homes in Fort Lauderdale’s (at that time) overheated real estate market to simply watch less television and get off their butts and work a second or third job. Thank you Marie, "Let them eat cake."

Leaders in the gay community called on Naugle to apologize for his offensive bigoted comments and on the afternoon of an anti-Naugle protest on the steps of city hall, called by Unity Florida, Naugle hastily convened a press conference to apologize.

"I want to apologize to the children and parents of our community for not being aware of the problem… I apologize for not bringing this forward earlier. Maybe some lives could have been saved."

That’s a back-handed way of saying to the gay and lesbian community, "F— you." While local residents of all stripes have recognized for a long time that Naugle is hardly a poster boy for the liberal left, in fact he’s been a featured speaker for organizations with a homophobic agenda, his latest comments have crossed the line and catalyzed indignation in the community. Michael Mayo, a Sun-Sentinel columnist, noted that, "Defiance might gain the publicity-loving mayor more headlines and airtime, but he should realize it will only lead him and his city deeper into trouble. An apology is in order because he crossed the line with a comment that was…just stupid."

As one who has attended rallies in support of Cesar Chavez in the ‘60s and AIDS marches in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I dusted off my Birkenstock sandals and attended the event on the city hall steps. There were 800 to 1000 people at the anti-Naugle rally and about a dozen or so anti-anti-Naugle souls across the street with the predictable signs about God’s condemnation of Adam and Steve. I didn’t see any signs proclaiming God’s love for all of us. That must be an idea that’s now passé.

On a typical Florida July day with "a chance of late afternoon thunderstorms," the rally speakers and the rain drops began about the same time. Without an umbrella or rain gear, I put my arm around the rather ample waist of the man standing next to me as he raised his big black umbrella and said, "I’m so glad that you’re my new best friend."

"Likewise, I’m sure," he responded with a smile and a squeeze of my waist. But rain or no rain everyone stayed to listen to the rally speakers and I didn’t see anyone bolt for their car. It was a significant event. It was the largest gay/lesbian local rally in more than a decade. The speakers included Fort Lauderdale’s Vice-mayor and the immediate past Vice-mayor, a city commissioner and three county commissioners, the Property Tax Appraiser, and other elected officials from nearby communities. Rarely do elected local officials speak out against one of their own but in this case there was universal condemnation for Naugle’s bigotry and his insult to the gay and lesbian community. Two rabbis, a priest, and a Congregational minister joined the chorus of protest, as well as business and community leaders.

Since the instigation of this brouhaha was about outhouse sex, it’s ironic, that, according to the local police, there has been only one arrest for sexual activity in a public rest room since January 2005, and that was at a shopping mall, not at the beach. Also, ironically, as pointed out by a local psychotherapist, Ed Ullman, most of the people engaging in public rest-room sex are married men leading heterosexual lives. Case in point is Representative Robert Allen, a member of the Florida legislature, who was arrested July 11 for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in a public rest room in central Florida.

Allen is married and has a teenaged daughter and earlier this year authored a bill that would have toughened Florida’s law regarding "lewd and lascivious" behavior.

But, "somewhere over the rainbow" there’s a bright side to this official stupidity. Mayor Naugle has only eighteen months left in this, his final term of office. He’s served his limit, in part through the lethargy of GLBT voters who have failed to vote in local elections in the past. Hiz DizHonor’s divisive and bigoted comments have served as a stimulus to unite the gay community, as evidenced by the rally at city hall. Hopefully, that energy and purpose will continue to unite the GLBT community the next time the polls open.