No Gay Pride in Tampa
June 27, 2005 | 
News Reports
This is a double whammy for queers and librarians: Florida county “abstains from” gay pride. A graduate student at the University of South Florida made an exhibit on gay authors, and it was placed in a public library in Tampa. Reportedly some library patrons were “upset” by the display, particularly the fact that pamphlets were available to children. A county commissioner had this to say:
One of the things that occurred was that pamphlets were being distributed to children by librarians who are county employees, and they referred children to youth groups outside Hillsborough County to explore their sexuality.
This makes it sound like librarians are actively recruiting seven-year-olds to be gay. I suspect what really occurred is that the pamphlets were available on a librarian’s desk, and some 15-year-olds who might be questioning their sexuality picked them up. So the librarians have been vilified, and gays and lesbians in Toronto are being denied any government-recognized pride celebrations as a result. What wonderful progress.
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