Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin Part of 'Gay-Friendly' Tourism Campaign

CNSNEWS.com ^ | 11/14/03 | Susan Jones

[kattracks]

(CNSNews.com) - Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin, and George Washington are lending their images to a new "gay-friendly" advertising campaign intended to bring more visitors to Philadelphia.

The campaign -- which mixes historical figures with rainbow banners and other contemporary images -- will promote "gay travel" to the Philadelphia area, said the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation in a press release.

"A visit to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Philadelphia's other historical attractions is an American experience of interest to both gay and straight travelers," said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation.

She said the advertising will "showcase Philadelphia's mainstream attractions, restaurants and events as well as gay-specific events of interest..."

The ad campaign features the tagline, "Get your history straight and your nightlife gay."

The first ad in the three-year, $300,000 campaign will appear in the December issue of New York's Metro Source magazine. Internet advertising will be a major element of the campaign, because "research shows that gay travelers are Internet savvy and book more trips on the Web than their straight counterparts," said Levitz.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, a private, nonprofit organization, describes itself as "Philadelphia's official regional tourism marketing agency."

 

 

[presidio9]

Ben Franklin was definately the most heterosexual of all our founding fathers. It makes no sense that the buttsex crowd would attempt to hijack his historical legacy.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

We hold these fruits to be self evident...

[TheAngryClam]

What part of "get your history straight" is so hard to understand?

There's no claim that Franklin or Ross were gay. The ad campaign is "hey, come see all this cool historical stuff, which is open from 9 AM - 5 PM or whatever, and then there's a ton of great gay bars in the city too you can go to at night."

Next you'll be angry that gay Americans dare put out an American flag on the 4th of July or something.

[Lee Heggy]

I find this all very queer.

[twigs]

I used to work in association with some of these people in tourism here. They make me ashamed...

[presidio9]

Nope, I see no reason why the buttsex crowd needs to associate themselves with the Founding Fathers in any way. Most of them had no tolerance for homosexuals either.

[fiscally_right]

Yeah, he was a playuh :).

[StonyBurk]

PRecisely why General George Washington ,wrote of the
Court Marshall of Lt.Enslin (10 March,1778)That Enslin --
charged with sodomy-ought be "dismissed with Infamy-as
Commander in Chief (Washington) approved the sentence ,and
with Abhorrence and Detestation of such Infamous Crimes
ordere denslin drummed out Camp,never to return."
Do miss the days when we were Americans United.

[fiscally_right]

Yes, back in the good ole days when men were men, women were women, slaves were slaves.... /sarcasm

[Texas_Jarhead]

absurd

[TheAngryClam]

We got some real winners in here.

[ohioman]

Go back to your closet.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

ping

[EdReform]

"It makes no sense that the buttsex crowd would attempt to hijack his historical legacy."

They'll hijack anything in an attempt to further their agenda:

The Overhauling of Straight America

The Homosexual Propaganda and Media Manipulation Game

[presidio9]

We got some real winners in here.

Note to shirtlifters: You are 2% of the vote. We don't NEED you.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Remind me again what George W.'s margin of victory was?

[ambrose]

The daytime crowd is always the worst, for some reason.

[defendingright]

With all of the television shows, press coverage, advocacy groups, etc. You'd think that half the country was homosexual. That's not the case at all. Homosexuals are a VERY small minority...yet, they consistently get nationwide/worldwide attention.
On the other hand, for a nation that claims to be over 2/3 Christian, regarding the issue of homosexuality, the Christian "majority" remains mostly silent. Where is the outrage?

[presidio9]

Oh yeah, it was that gay vote that put him over the top...

We control the flyover states specifically because we don't pander to the buttsex crowd.