LA Officials Back Boycott of Brunei-Owned Hotels
Local officials have called for a boycott of Brunei-owned hotels in Los Angeles in response to new laws in Brunei that will condemn people convicted of gay sex to death by stoning.
Speaking at City Hall on April 2, Ron Galperin, the City Controller of Los Angeles, who is openly gay, urged a boycott of the Hotel Bel Air and the Beverly Hills Hotel. He also said the local tourist board should distance itself from the establishments and studios should no longer film at them.
“Do not patronize these hotels. Do not stay in these hotels. Do not step foot in these hotels so long as they are owned by such a criminal enterprise,” he said.
Also speaking at City Hall, Councilman Paul Koretz called out the “hypocrisy” of the strict new laws, which also make the offence of adultery punishable by death and theft an offence punishable by amputation.
“Some members of the royal family have huge sexual orgies with prostitutes from all over the world,” he said. “And the same people that have these drunken orgies … are taking the extreme on all other things that they say are significant in sharia law, and talking about executing people for what we would view as minor violations or nothing here in the United States.”
On the boycott of the hotels, Koretz said, “I think this is beyond symbolic. If people actually stop attending these two hotels they will feel it in the pocket book.” Credit: Paul Koretz via Storyful
