The sign outside Palm Springs proudly welcomes visitors to a "two-time winner of the Best Gay Destination in the World Award", and tourist information leaflets proclaim it "America's Gayest City".
However, it seems no one bothered to tell that to the chief of police.
David Dominguez, was the top cop in a Californian community where it’s said that very nearly 50 per cent of residents are either gay or lesbian, but he has been forced out of his job after instructing officers to mount an undercover "sting" against visitors taking advantage of the desert climate to have outdoor sex.
He’s having to take early retirement and it comes after months of controversy over the operation, in which his officers made dozens of contentious arrests.
The final nail in Mr Dominguez's career coffin came after the lawman was caught on tape making an "inappropriate comment," which we’re told included the offensive term "faggot".
Both the supporters and opponents of gay rights have been galvanised by the affair, which started 2009, the police chief ordered male officers to dress ‘gayly’ in flamboyant style and walk the streets late at night attempting to solicit sex.
The undercover detectives were told to approach the late night revellers who were walking home from the bars and clubs in the gay Warm Sands neighbourhood of Palm Springs. Warm Sands is an area that’s very gay friendly with numerous gay hotels and resorts, the officers would then suggest an amorous liaison. However, anyone who accepted their advances was handcuffed, and charged with sex offences.
Critics described the operation as unlawful entrapment, and said it was motivated entirely by homophobia, since no similar "sting" was mounted against heterosexuals. It was also pointed that only one of the city's 99 serving police officers is openly gay.
"What would happen, in a typical scenario, was that three or four of the officers would dress up in tight T-shirts. They would then approach a man, grab his crotch, and say something like 'What you got?'" Roger Tansey, a lawyer for six victims of the sting said to reporters. "They would flirt for as long as it took to persuade the target to undress, and then handcuff him."
Twenty four of the arrested men are now being prosecuted under Section 290 of the California Penal Code, which will require them, if convicted, to register as sex offenders and spend the rest of their lives on a public database intended to allow concerned parents to identify local paedophiles.
"I've never heard of a more discriminatory prosecution," added Mr Tansey. "My clients aren't the sort of people who do this normally. They were talked into it."
Palm Springs, around 100 miles from Los Angeles, had become a top tourist destination for gay people from around the world. it was known as one of America's most liberal cities, similar to San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale. However, just this week, it’s reputation as the gayest town in America has been strongly dented, two European gay travel companies have decided to stop promoting the destination. “If we have clients that really really want to go there, we’ll still sell it, but we’ll no longer promote it as an inclusive, welcoming gay destination” said one of the major operators today.More on this story
The Independent
Jason Shaw
www.seafrontdiary.com
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