“"I
do not want to have to explain to my daughter what it
means to question one's sexuality.”
—
Hillsborough County (FL) Commissioner Ronda Storms,
who has successfully banned gay and lesbian literature
displays from Hillsborough public libraries and banned
the county government from acknowledging gay pride.
Ronda
Storms didn’t like some of the books that
were placed on display racks in Hillsborough County’s
libraries. She was especially upset over literature that
deals with queer sexuality. Nothing surprising there—people
often get upset with various forms of literature.
But
Storms isn’t your ordinary uptight Floridian, she
is a county commissioner with a whole lot of power and
not a lot of restraint. So on June 15th, she did something
about it.
Here’s
how it began: On June 8, after hearing that a book display
honoring Gay and Lesbian Pride Month was installed (and
later dismantled due to patron complaints) at West Gate
Regional Library in the city of Town 'N Country, FL, Storms
voiced her concerns to her fellow commissioners at a budget
meeting. According to the St. Petersburg Times,
Storms said, “I do not want to have to explain to
my daughter what it means to question one's sexuality."
After the meeting, she added, “This uses government
to promote a political perspective. Whether we should
have pride in homosexuality is a political perspective.”
While
her statements might help solve the mystery surrounding
who borrowed Hillsborough’s only copy of Fascism
For Dummies, they hardly qualify as arguments on
which to base policy. In fact, her words me wonder if
she’s qualified for her job and if she even knows
what’s expected of her.
The
Preamble of the Hillsborough County Charter states clearly,
“We, the people of Hillsborough County, Florida…
guarantee equal civil and political rights to all…”
Section 4.02. Board of County Commissioners in that Charter
is also clear: “…Prior to voting on any matter
of county business, any commissioner having a conflict
of interest shall declare that conflict to the board.”
You
don’t have to be a lawyer to recognize that Storms
not only has a conflict of interest, but also abused the
privilege of her seat by attacking the liberties that
she is supposed to “guarantee,” namely “equal
civil and political rights to all.”
Why?
Because she’s uncomfortable.
It’s
interesting to me that the thought of discussing sexuality
with her 6-year-old daughter makes Ms. Storm very uneasy,
but she apparently can’t wait to explain the meaning
of the word “censorship.”
That
would be a much more comfortable conversation, I’m
sure.
Comfort
is what it’s all about in Hillsborough, after all.
A new county policy that bans gay and lesbian literature
displays from Hillsborough public libraries and bans the
county government from acknowledging gay pride is a direct
result of Storms’ distress and immaturity. The uneasiness
of others took a back seat.
No
one at the meeting where Storms voiced her objection to
the book displays paid any mind to the discomfort the
conversation caused Commissioner Kathy Castor, a lone
opposer. “I would hope this board would not use
this dais to promote discrimination,” she said.
“I think it would be a terrible thing to put something
like this on the agenda."
Yes,
terrible. But Ms. Castor is just going to have to get
a grip on herself. Storms does not want to ban books,
for crying out loud, she just wants to hide them.
