South Florida Gayborhood Sees Suicide Spike

Wilton Manors is a genial gayborhood of some 12,000 souls in Broward County, FL, just to the north of Fort Lauderdale. It's arguably the gayest gayborhood in America, and it's a very pleasant place. (I know, for I grew up there. It's nice!) And yet, according to the Sun Sentinel, Wilton Manors' citizens are committing suicide at a greater rate than citizens of any of the other 31 municipalities in Broward, and at three times the rate of American citizens in general. Zero-point-oh-four-seven of Wilton Manors residents are killing themselves per year.

From the Sentinel:

Over the past four years, this city of under 12,000 people has had five more suicides than [the nearby city of] Weston, which has about 65,000 people, and only one fewer suicide than [nearby] Miramar, which has 122,000 people, according to figures from the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office.

... Among last year's suicides, O'Connell said a 40-year-old gay man hanged himself in October after breaking up with his partner; a 44-year-old man with a history of mental illness shot himself in August; and a 52-year-old man — married with children — stepped in front of a train in June, conflicted about whether he was straight or gay.

While O'Connell said the suicides seem to involve every part of society — "straight, gay, rich, poor, old, young" — mental health professionals see several potential factors behind the city's increase.

Yes: gayness, poverty, and age. Wilton Manors is both older and vastly gayer than most American cities, and both the aged and the gay are slightly more likely than their younger and straighter counterparts to kill themselves. But those factors don't seem sufficient to explain the Wilton Manors discrepency, according to the Sentinel.

Wilton Manors officials have called a townhall meeting for April 19th to discuss the city's suicide problem.

Rally Planned in South Florida in Response to Controversy Surrounding Congressman Allen West

A newly-formed South Florida LGBT group is planning a rally on Monday in response to recent controversy surrounding the Wilton Manors Business Association's recent invitation to anti-gay Congressman Allen West to speak at one of its meetings.

Dean Trantalis, an attorney and member of WMBA, hosted the first meeting of the Coalition for Equality and Fairness and stated that their goal is to create an organization designed to protect citizenship diversity and stand up to public officials who are bullying the LGBT community.

The new group announced that it will release its mission statement Thursday, after planning an agenda and venue for its first event -- a rally entitled “Allen West: In His Own Words.” The forum, open to the public, will be held 6 p.m. Monday, August 8, in a location to be announced.

The WMBA withdrew its invitation to West following outrage and calls for a boycott of the organization from the LGBT Democratic Caucus.

West wrote a letter (PDF) condemning the cancelation:

“This boycott would have harmed hard-working small business owners simply because members of the Wilton Manors Business Association wanted to be better informed on business related issue taking place in Washington D.C.,” the statement reads. “In these very tough economic times, I find it intolerable that the Florida Gay, Lesbian, Transgender Democratic Caucus would call upon a boycott to hurt small business owners trying to earn a living and only wanting to better be informed about business related issues from their Member of Congress. Clearly, we have learned who really are the intolerable individuals in South Florida.”

The South Florida Gay News has a timeline of the West controversy, which includes statements he made as recently as July regarding the military's 'DADT' policy:

In Plant City at a town hall meeting West comments on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. He states: “When you take the military and you tell it they must conform to the individual's behavior, then it's just a matter of time until you break down the military.” He also rejects any comparison between racial integration and the integration of gays in the military. “Let me explain something to you. I can't change my color. People can change their behavior, but I can't change my color.”

Note to readers: several of you have written in complaining about Allen West ads that are appearing on our pages. If you see them, it is likely that they are appearing contextually based on content which we have written exposing his anti-gay positions, and can be difficult to block.

Britney-Tattooed Chihuahua Thief to be Extradited to Florida

 

You may recall the story of Hudson Hayward Hemingway, a chihuahua with pink earrings, which was stolen from Georgi's Alibi gay bar in Fort Lauderdale last July by a man with a Britney Spears tattoo. 

There has been a break in the case.

The suspect in the case, Channing Reynolds (pictured), has been arrested on unrelated charges in Pennsylvania. He is expected to be extradited to Florida this week to face a grand theft charge in connection with the chihuahua.

The Sun-Sentinel caught up with the dog's owner, who has replaced the original chihuahua with Hudson Hayward Hemingway II, to break the news. 

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously...
Chihuahua Stolen from Gay Bar by Man with Britney Tattoo [tr]

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Chihuahua Stolen From Florida Gay Bar by Man with Britney Tattoo

A chihuahua with pink earrings was stolen from Brian Dortort at Georgie's Alibi, a gay bar in Wilton Manors, on July 28, and just now news is reaching the wires:

"Dotort threw a birthday party for a friend at the bar that night, and was carrying the dog in a specialty pet bag, he said. One of the dog's admirers insisted he hold the dog and grabbed her, he said. Dotort didn't suspect the dog would be stolen, he said, so he briefly left the dog in the man's possession to pick up litter from a nearby table. In an instant, the thief disappeared with Hudson, Dotort said. The dog, about the size of a softball, is described as light-cream colored with a pink belly and pink ears. She has a pink earring in each ear. Wilton Manors police investigated the theft and identified a suspect whose whereabouts are unknown, police spokesman David Jones said. It's up to the Broward State Attorney's Office to decide whether there's enough evidence for an arrest warrant to be issued, police said. Dortort described the thief as a thin man about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He weighs about 160 pounds, has short brown hair and tattoos, including one on his arm or neck that says 'Britney Spears.'"

Image above for illustration purposes only, and not an actual photo of the suspect or the chihuahua, which, if you happen to see, you should call by the name of Hudson Hayward Hemingway. Despite the fact this sounds like a plotline from Legally Blonde, we sincerely hope the dog finds its way back to Mr. Dortort. It's awful to lose a pet.

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