FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 6 (UPI)

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., city commission axed the mayor’s column in a city-funded magazine after he complained in print about gay cruising areas.

In the column in Focus on Fort Lauderdale, Mayor Jim Naugle complained of finding a Fort Lauderdale park touted as a place where gay men could find sex partners. He also asked residents to complain to police if they witnessed illegal activities.

At a commission meeting, Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson, who plans to challenge Naugle in next year’s election, said that the mayor’s column was inappropriate in a magazine paid for with tax money. The rest of the commission agreed.

Naugle, who also brought up the issue in his state-of-the-city message last month, refused to apologize. In his column, he used the term homosexual rather than gay, arguing that not all homosexuals are happy.

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