FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Leaders of a South Florida LGBTQ history museum want a refund after the state removed a section from its official tourism website for LGBTQ travelers.
The Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library, located at 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, pays a membership fee to the state’s tourism site Visit Florida to help promote itself.
It’s one of the largest LGBTQ archives in the world. The small non-profit largely depends on donations from its visitors.
Robert Kesten, the museum’s executive director, said the decision to take down the page “certainly makes me angry.”
“There is no reason to discredit a group of people that drive a tremendous amount of tourist dollars into the state,” he said. “The money should be refunded, an apology should be made and the pages should be reinstated.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis, in a news conference Tuesday, defended the state’s decision to take down the page.
“Our view as a state is we’re the best place to visit, we’re to open to all, but we’re not going to be segregating people,” he said.
But Visit Florida is still offering pages marketing to groups like Latinos and African-Americans.
Local 10 News reached out to Visit Florida’s CEO for a response and to ask if groups like the museum will be getting their money back. She has yet to respond.