False advertising

A South Carolina gay rights group is soliciting donations to pay for a $5,000 tourism campaign that proclaimed "South Carolina is so gay." The campaign, which included posters in the London subway system during a recent gay pride festival there, originally was approved for public funding by a South Carolina tourism agency employee, but when the campaign became public and higher-ups started getting flak from legislators and the governor's office, the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism refused to foot the bill. The State newspaper in Columbia, the state capital, quoted a spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford as saying the use of public funds to promote a social agenda was not appropriate. Even though I'm a supporter of gay rights, including the right for gay people to marry, I have to agree with the governor's office on this one. But even if you think such an expenditure is appropriate, there's the factual issue. I lived in South Carolina and have been to every corner of the state, and I can tell you that outside of Charleston (shown above) and, to a lesser extent, Columbia and the Myrtle Beach area (but not during Bike Week), South Carolina is not "so gay." In fact, there are a lot of places in the Palmetto State where being openly gay could get you an ass-whippin', or worse. The "so gay" designation would best be used in places like San Francisco, where it really, really applies.