After a flood of hostile emails and calls threatening a boycott of his LGBT-friendly resorts, gay hotelier Ian Reisner apologized Sunday for the "terrible mistake" of hosting a dinner for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) at his Manhattan home last week.
In a Facebook post Sunday, Reisner said he was "shaken to [his] bones" by the swift and angry threats from LGBT activists after he dared host a conservative politician:
I am shaken to my bones by the e-mails, texts, postings and phone calls of the past few days. I made a terrible mistake. I was ignorant, naive and much too quick in accepting a request to co-host a dinner with Cruz at my home without taking the time to completely understand all of his positions on gay rights. I've spent the past 24 hours reviewing videos of Cruz' statements on gay marriage and I am shocked and angry. I sincerely apologize for hurting the gay community and so many of our friends, family, allies, customers and employees. I will try my best to make up for my poor judgement. Again, I am deeply sorry.
At the Apr. 20 dinner hosted by Reisner and his gay business partner, Mati Weiderpass, the men said Cruz addressed mainly issues on which they aligned, particularly supporting Israel. Cruz has consistently said he personally opposes gay marriage but that the issue should be left to the states to decide rather than determined by the federal government.
When word got out that the hoteliers were meeting with Cruz, the outraged gay community reacted by threatening to boycott their properties. LGBT activists created a Facebook page calling for a boycott of Reisner and Weiderpass's properties, including the Fire Island Pines Resort and the gay-friendly the Out NYC Hotel. The NYC Gay Men's Chorus also got in on the act, canceling an event scheduled for Saturday at Out NYC, explaining, "We want to be 100% clear in our support for the LGBTQ community." Nonprofit HIV/AIDS research group Broadway Cares also canceled a fundraiser scheduled for next month at one of Reisner and Weiderpass' night clubs.
Meanwhile, Cruz highlighted the false assumptions of the leftist media the incident exposed, saying at a speech in Iowa Saturday, "The only explanation that makes sense to reporters is that anyone who supports traditional marriage...must be somehow motivated by hatred for those who are homosexuals. It's why this story seems so puzzling to the media."
