Thu. April 1, 2004
Miami, Florida -
Phones at city hall rung off their hooks Thursday following a report that Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer would perform 2,000 same-sex marriages today.
Many of the calls were from gay and lesbian couples seeking information, others were from people opposed to same-sex marriage.
But, the report that sparked the calls turned out to be an April Fool's joke. It was contained on a Miami website citydebate.com and had a small disclaimer at the bottom of the page saying it was "satire".
LGBT rights advocates in the heavily gay community denounced the posting as a "cruel hoax", and Mayor Dermer, a longtime supporter of gay issues was clearly not amused.
"I have no authority to issue a marriage license," Dermer said, noting the state has a Defense of Marriage Act prohibiting gay marriage.
The publisher of the website said the story was a joke meant to stir debate about a critical issue that the city had remained quiet on.
by Fidel Ortega
365Gay.com Newscenter
Miami Bureau
©365Gay.com® 2004
For the complete article (non-reader view with multimedia and original links),
Tap here.
Head to the local LGBTQ news, events, directory and people network at ChicagoPride.com