zippeedee
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 18, 2003
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- 957
I'm just stunned... what year is this again???
Utah town takes stand on families, faces boycott
By Jennifer Dobner, Associated Press | March 24, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY -- The little Utah tourist town of Kanab is a gateway to some of the biggest views in Red Rock country. Nearby are Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks, as well as other landscapes that formed the backdrop for the television shows ''Gunsmoke" and ''The Lone Ranger."
''Our slogan has been 'Come and play in our backyard,' " said Kane County's tourism director, Ted Hallisey.
But some tourists may be passing up Kanab this year.
In January, the City Council in the Mormon community of 3,600 unanimously passed a resolution in favor of the ''natural family," consisting of a working husband, a stay-at-home wife, and a ''full quiver of children."
The resolution struck some as homophobic and sexist and stirred talk of a tourism boycott of Kanab, a move endorsed by syndicated travel columnist Arthur Frommer.
''I think they know perfectly well this is a smoke screen for discriminating against gays," the New York City travel guru and guidebook author said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
The six-member City Council in Kanab is the only Utah governmental entity to pass the resolution, which was sent to cities all over Utah by the Salt Lake City-based Sutherland Institute, a conservative think tank.
Kanab's business owners are taking note.
''It's not a theoretical. This affects my business, and it's hard to make a living in Kane County," said Victor Cooper, owner of the Rocking V Cafe.
Kane County's tourism bureau has been flooded with more than 300 letters, calls, and e-mail messages from individuals who say they plan either to cancel visits to Kanab or to avoid spending their money in Kanab on visits.
Utah town takes stand on families, faces boycott
By Jennifer Dobner, Associated Press | March 24, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY -- The little Utah tourist town of Kanab is a gateway to some of the biggest views in Red Rock country. Nearby are Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks, as well as other landscapes that formed the backdrop for the television shows ''Gunsmoke" and ''The Lone Ranger."
''Our slogan has been 'Come and play in our backyard,' " said Kane County's tourism director, Ted Hallisey.
But some tourists may be passing up Kanab this year.
In January, the City Council in the Mormon community of 3,600 unanimously passed a resolution in favor of the ''natural family," consisting of a working husband, a stay-at-home wife, and a ''full quiver of children."
The resolution struck some as homophobic and sexist and stirred talk of a tourism boycott of Kanab, a move endorsed by syndicated travel columnist Arthur Frommer.
''I think they know perfectly well this is a smoke screen for discriminating against gays," the New York City travel guru and guidebook author said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
The six-member City Council in Kanab is the only Utah governmental entity to pass the resolution, which was sent to cities all over Utah by the Salt Lake City-based Sutherland Institute, a conservative think tank.
Kanab's business owners are taking note.
''It's not a theoretical. This affects my business, and it's hard to make a living in Kane County," said Victor Cooper, owner of the Rocking V Cafe.
Kane County's tourism bureau has been flooded with more than 300 letters, calls, and e-mail messages from individuals who say they plan either to cancel visits to Kanab or to avoid spending their money in Kanab on visits.
