Domain Names
The hue and cry resulting from the Supreme Court decision strikes this reader as delayed, especially considering the history of eminent domain in Florida (re: "Land Snatching," July 6). In the 1970s, the City of Tampa used eminent domain to secure scores of Hyde Park dwellings to allow a Canadian firm to develop Old Hyde Park Village. I would like to hear from developers and displaced Hyde Park residents, to hear how that worked out.
Gary R. Mormino
St. Petersburg
Author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Forida
Back To The Closet
I was listening to the WFLA morning show, and heard Jack mentioning the situation here in Tampa re gay pride. There has been much made of this in your pages as well (Hillsborough Gay Pride coverage, June 15, June 29, July 6). I am usually pretty liberal, to the point of being a libertarian, and am very opinionated on these (and a couple of other) subjects.
Personally, I cannot understand why gays feel it necessary to "come out of the closet." Moreover, why they want to continually throw their lifestyle in our faces. I am heterosexual, and see no reason to flaunt anything. Are these people feeling so guilty about their actions that they need to try to legitimize themselves? I totally agree with Commissioner Ronda Storms that it is inappropriate for the government to support gay pride in any way, or to condone a gay display at a public library. It does bother me a little that Christmas displays and the Ten Commandments are also eschewed, but I can understand it, at least enough to refrain from making a public demonstration of my beliefs.
I don't consider myself homophobic; if I knew the Greek word for disgust, I could appropriately say I was "homo-disgusted." There has been some unease in certain quarters about the sex industry in Tampa. There are bars of every type, and "adult book stores" in abundance. My belief is that people should be allowed to frequent any establishment that they desire. Would it not be more appropriate to have gay displays or "pride" demonstrations at these venues, which already have an overt sexual orientation??! I know that those businesses are private property, but they might be conducive to some sort of display or demonstration with sexual overtones.
By the same token, it is totally unfair (and completely foolish) to threaten some sort of boycott of Florida's tourist trade or businesses over Ms. Storms' actions. I say foolish because the people doing the threatening obviously are unaware of how much of a minority they are in our community. Just because they insist on being more vocal does not mean they will be listened to by the rest of us.
I have no intention of closing my eyes to the world. I just wish that others would respect my desire to see beauty rather than trash. Littering is illegal; so should be overtly sexual demonstrations.
James McCarthy
Via e-mail
Editor's Note: No one's asking to perform sex acts in the street here, James – it's about the right of consenting adults to love whom they want to love, and for same-sex couples to share the same legal rights afforded to heterosexual couples. As long as there are "liberals" like yourself who are "disgusted" by that fact, then it's still going to be necessary for people like me to declare I'm proud of who I am.
Pride Marches On
I wonder if anyone has considered the fact that since Hillsborough County is no longer officially recognizing gay pride events, they've loopholed themselves out of being able to effectively stop one from occurring on public property. Let's say hypothetically that one is organized and takes place right in the middle of downtown Tampa. City officials and police officers couldn't really stop it from taking place for being a gay pride event, seeing as how they can't officially recognize it as such. To stop a gay pride event because it is a gay pride event would require its recognition as being a gay pride event. And if it's not that, then it's protected under our right to congregate peacefully.
Jeremy Douglass
Via e-mail
This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2005.