Posted on 01/03/2005 6:31:11 PM PST by Lorianne
Homosexual activists blast man who posted warning to families ___ A promoter of tourism in a Colorado ski town has stirred up a controversy among local residents after posting a warning to potential visiting families about the city's Gay Ski Week.
Al Heirich runs an online guide to Telluride, Colo., offering information about the town, its skiing, lodging and restaurants. Telluride is a world-class ski resort with a population of about 3,000.
Heirich says promoters of the homosexual event, including the Telluride Ski Resort, have demanded he remove his warning to families on his website, claiming it is discriminatory.
The resort also asked him to remove links to its site from Heirich's site.
"Telluride Ski Resort does not discriminate against any skiers or visitors to Telluride," the resort's marketing vice president, Pete Woods, told Heirich in an e-mail. "Obviously your website does not reflect that same message.
"Please remove any and all links to the www.tellurideskiresort.com website on the skimall.net site immediately."
The controversy began with last year's Gay Ski Week, when Heirich says he tried to warn potential tourists individually. This year he thought a general statement on his site would be more efficient.
Says the statement: "Although this week should be fun for those not offended by alternative lifestyles, with scheduled events including: The Pleasure Hunt, The Blue Ball Dance, Drag Races and more, we are strongly suggesting that families concerned with exposing their children to the homosexual lifestyle and homosexual behavior schedule their vacations another time.
"Events are planned throughout the week in both towns celebrating and promoting the homosexual lifestyle.
"Due to the intense controversy this year in regards to this week, the public display of homosexual pride and behavior will most likely be greater than last year. If this offends you, this is not the time to visit Telluride."
The statement also warns parents about the week's "sexually oriented" Aids Benefit Fashion Show with a link to photos of last year's event. While it urges families not to attend the fashion show, readers are encouraged to donate to the cause.
Heirich says the Gay Ski Week warning is no different than a warning he has posted about college ski weeks, during which public drunkenness and lewdness normally increase.
The statement on Gay Ski Week, which is scheduled for Feb. 26 to March 6, includes the following:
"Note: We have updated this notice more than 10 times to attempt not to offend a small portion of our visitors. Please do not request any further changes. Unfortunately, we cannot insure that every person who may be offended one way or the other is happy."
Heirich entered the fray about Gay Ski Week last year when his letter to the editor was published in the Daily Planet. His main beef was about the community labeling people by having special weeks for certain kinds of visitors.
"I hear and read the liberal rant of how those opposed to a Gay Ski Week are homophobic, intolerant and hateful," he wrote. "I'm against Gay Ski Week and not because of any moral or religious belief. I'm against it because we are now so desperate for tourists that we feel the need to label groups or individuals – a weird desire to accept them while we make them stand out. Frankly, I don't care if it's gays, blacks, Jews, hippies or angry white men. In the past, we have been able to welcome them all without the need for labels or special weeks."
Heirich claims the warning is not discriminatory and says he must take the beliefs of his clientele into consideration when telling them about Telluride.
"We do have a conservative, affluent, active demographic," he said of his customers. "The people like the family-friendly feel of the site."
Continued Heirich: "My customers aren't homophobes; they're parents with little kids. … But when you're advertising Gay Ski Week it really does have an exclusive sound to it."
On Dec. 1, the paper published a letter from resident Susan Knight opposing the homosexually oriented week. Responses from outraged community members have followed ever since, with one letter writer saying Knight's missive was "unspeakably offensive," a phrase she used in her letter.
Another writer hammered Knight, saying Telluride is "an oasis for free thinking in an often-judgmental America."
Wrote another, addressing Knight: "Your intolerance and bigotry is disgusting. Furthermore, your belief that your hate-infused worldview even vaguely represents the opinion of this community proves how clueless you are to what Telluride really is."
Heirich says it was the many letters hammering Knight that generated questions from people who read them on the Internet and then expressed concern to him.
"A lot of them wanted to know, 'what's all this controversy?'" he told WND.
Heirich says he's "the only vocal conservative in Telluride" and has been told he must be more "respectful" toward those who listen to a radio show he co-hosts on an all-volunteer community radio station.
"I've been called a racist and a homophobe in the paper, but that's the price you pay for speaking out," he told WND. Said Heirich of the pressure put on him regarding his site: "It's really a bullying tactic."
I'm in AZ.
The latest is this. People in California are selling their houses, coming here, and discovering they can buy two houses here. This situation is not good....
Heirich is doing his job, especially rereading what he said about if it were "college week" (drunken partiers, ect...) and giving the "heads up" to families.
Thanks for straightening (pun?) me out. I might ski there after all, just to support this fellow.
Not even skiing is sacred anymore from having some despicable agenda being pushed in our faces!
Exactly. And why would gay activists be interested in families with children blundering in on their fun at the Blue Ball Dance in the first place?
Because their agenda is to offend as many people as possible all the time. Period. If it weren't they would have no problem with this gentleman's website. Methinks the ladies doth protest too much.
I wonder when they're going to have gay nude leapfrog week.
Man, that sucks.
I would have greatly appreciated his warning- I live in florida where the gays take over Disney and carry on in provocative ways, gross references with Disney characters involved to inform of special gay gatherings - the press is always there and then the behavior is worse - if I had spent my hard earned money only to land at Disney that week I would be livid- many have tried to get their money back - it is always scheduled when most schools get out and Fathers' day- another cruel hoax on the American family
It's about overt displays of sexuality that parents do not want to, and should not be expected to explain to their kids. To quote my little nephew: Duh-huh.
I remember that face well. It was there where I took my very first chairlift over, in Feb. 1977.
Pardon me if I sound dramatic, but I feel like it's been desecrated, from a personal standpoint. :(
LOL
When I was 10 years old, my parents took me to visit San Francisco. My parents were unaware at the time, but that was the same week the Gay Olympics came to town. It was quite an eye opening experience at that age.
Thank you to everyone who has made the effort to understand this issue.
We have had to close our Telluride Guides until we can insure all links to Telski are deactivated.
They really control our town in the Winter and have some pretty powerful Lawyers.
Odd thing though, the local paper refuses to even acknowledge that this is happening.
Thank you all again for the kindness.
Warm Regards
Al Heirich
"Hey, how can we have any fun if there are no little boys on the mountain?"
How is a gay ski week "inclusive" of the NORMAL?
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