Florida gays plan
to thwart local politician's campaign

Hillsborough County, Fla., commissioner Ronda Storms's nemesis--the county's gay community--has set up shop in her political backyard and plans to hold some in-your-face events designed to derail her run for state senate. Storms, Hillsborough's district 4 county commissioner, is vying with three others for the senate seat being vacated by Sen. Tom Lee. She championed a ban on county recognition of gay pride events after patrons at West Gate Regional Library complained about a display that showcased books by gay authors or with gay themes. "She isn't going to be too happy about this," local LGBT advocate Mark Ferguson said about his plans to stage gay pride events at a Bloomingdale library and a Brandon mall, both a short hop from Storms's home and in the midst of her political support base in southeastern Hillsborough County. The Tampa Tribune reports a statewide gay rights organization also is gearing up to fight Storms's bid for the district 10 senate seat. Nadine Smith, president of Equality Florida, told the paper that "Ronda Storms has been a destructive voice in Hillsborough County, and she would be a disaster in Tallahassee." On the evening of June 16, 1,000 gay activists plan to walk hand-in-hand through Westfield Shoppingtown in Brandon wearing Equality Florida T-shirts. (Sirius OutQ News)